JJ Redick Locks In Three Lakers Starters, Leaves Two Spots Wide Open
Luka, Reaves and Kessler are penciled in — but Redick's viral one-liner made clear the final two starting jobs are still a genuine fight.
Locked-in starter role keeps his top-40 value safe despite a cold stretch.
- Luka, Reaves, Kessler confirmed as Lakers starters
- Reaves: 23.3 pts, 5.5 ast in 51 games (2025-26)
- Kessler: 14.4 pts, 10.8 reb in just 5 games (2025-26)
- Reaves ranks #39 overall, #19 at position on our board
- Two starting spots still up for grabs
JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka met with reporters to lay out where the Lakers' rebuilt roster stands, and the headline for fantasy managers is simple: three starting jobs are settled, two are not. Redick confirmed Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and center Walker Kessler are all penciled into the opening-night five, leaving the remaining two spots as open competition heading into the season.
The rest of the lineup is genuinely up for grabs, and Redick made that clear with a quip that quickly went viral — joking that the final two spots wouldn't be filled by "two white guys." It landed as a laugh line, but the substance underneath matters: L.A. has real position battles to sort out, and the answers will shape a handful of fantasy profiles.
The most fantasy-relevant name in that confirmed group is Reaves. He put up 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists across 51 games last season (2025-26), good for 38.7 fantasy points per game and a #39 overall rank on our board (#19 at his position). A locked-in starting role alongside Dončić is exactly the security you want to see this early.
The wrinkle: Reaves has cooled off, dropping 3.9 fantasy points below his season average over his last five games. That's a form dip, not a role problem, and Redick just removed the biggest question mark by keeping him in the first five. Cold streaks like this are how you talk yourself out of good players — don't.
The Kessler Question
Kessler is the trickier one. He's confirmed as the starting center, but he only logged 5 games last season (2025-26), posting 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3 assists for 38.3 fantasy points per game — strong rate stats over a tiny sample. He's currently unranked on our board precisely because the volume of evidence is so thin. A full starter's workload could push him into standard-league relevance quickly.
One name conspicuously absent from the Lakers conversation is LeBron James, now listed with the 76ers, where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists over 60 games (2025-26) for 41.4 fantasy points per game and a #23 overall rank. He's trending up, too — plus-7.9 fantasy points over his last five. That's a different roster's problem, but worth noting given the Lakers ties.
Bottom line: hold Reaves through the slump — the starting role is confirmed and the assist floor is real. Treat Kessler as a late-round dart with double-double upside, but wait for a real sample before trusting the 38-plus fantasy nights. Keep an eye on those two open spots; whoever wins them could sneak onto the waiver radar.
