Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans are optimistic or even excited about the team’s addition of center Deandre Ayton. He represents a major upgrade at the starting center spot over Jaxson Hayes, who is now a backup, and he brings career averages of 16.4 points on 59% field-goal shooting and 10.5 rebounds a game to Los Angeles.

The bone of contention for Ayton has been his defense. While he showed signs of promise in that category a few years ago while with the Phoenix Suns, since then, his defense has been lacking, especially in the paint and near the rim.

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But in the Lakers’ first preseason game of the 2025-26 campaign on Friday, he blocked two shots and was fairly active in terms of defending the rim. He also grabbed eight rebounds in just 18 minutes, and afterward, he said he wanted to show the team that he’s committed to the defensive end.

“I wanted to show the team I’m more committed on the defensive end than the offensive end, in a way,” Ayton said. “Like I said from the get go, I’m not really here for numbers. I’m just here for whatever the Lakers want me to do and the main objective is really protecting that rim and closing out possessions. I had fun, man, just blocking some shots and being that anchor, seeing how the guys responded to me, the terminology and stuff that I just needed to get out and just be out in our offense and create from our defense. So it was fun. It was fun tonight, honestly.”

Ayton will definitely upgrade the Lakers in the rebounding department, a department that has been a weakness for them over the last few seasons. He has averaged double figures in rebounds in each of his seven prior seasons in the NBA, and in particular, he can give them a boost in terms of giving them second-shot opportunities.

If he consistently commits to protecting the rim and defending the paint, he could single-handedly raise their ceiling, because it would change the complexion of the team on the defensive end and give it something to center itself around in that category.

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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Deandre Ayton said he wanted to show Lakers he’s committed to defense