Lakers' Deandre Ayton joins Shaq, Kareem in epic franchise history

Deandre Ayton always had a lot of hype surrounding him from high school to college to his status as a No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick.

At least for a night, the Los Angeles Lakers center put himself in the company of legends.

Ayton put up numbers for the Lakers on Friday night against the Wizards not seen since Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Ayton’s final line:

28 points13 rebounds3 assists1 steal3 blocks12-14 FG4-4 FT

He did all of that in just 29 minutes as the Lakers romped by 31 points over the Wizards.

Here’s the historical comparison via StatMuse:

Last three Lakers with 25/10/3b on 85+ FG% in a game:

— Shaq
— Kareem

— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 31, 2026

You aren’t going to find better big man company in Lakers history than that, or hardly anything better in NBA history, either.

Ayton, of course, hasn’t had the career of either of those guys.

But at least for a night, he was as dominant as a couple of all-time greats.

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Lakers’ Deandre Ayton joins Shaq, Kareem in epic franchise history