The forgotten skill Jackson Hayes hopes to bring to LA

LOS ANGELES – During Los Angeles Lakers‘ 130-120 win against the Miami Heat last week, Jackson Hayes hit his first three-point shot of the season, his only attempt so far. Hayes noticed at the top of the arc when he caught a pass from Austin Reeves, stepped into his shot and calmly knocked him down.

Since joining the Lakers two seasons ago, Jackson Hayes has not been known as a three-point shooter. Since 2023, he’s made just 12 total attempts, and prior to this season he was 0 of 11. But that wasn’t always the case. After the win against the Heat, Hayes was quick to point out that he had shot more 3-pointers earlier in his NBA career and that he would like to take more 3-pointers with the Lakers.

“I’m really comfortable shooting that shot. I played the four in New Orleans and we made the playoffs and I was shooting like two a game,” Hayes said. “That was a rhythm shot. I’ve been working on it a lot so I just shot it.”

During the 2021-22 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Hayes’ third in the league, he took 57 three-point shots and made 20 of them, finishing at 35.1 percent. That was the year the Pelicans made the playoffs with Hayes starting all six postseason games.

The year before that, Hayes shot a career-best 42.9 percent from the three-point line. He took just 14 three-point attempts that year and knocked down six. In the 2022-23 season, Hayes would make 29 long-range attempts, converting three.

But since Hayes joined the Lakers, he’s been used primarily as a lob threat, especially with his arrival Luka Dončić, with whom he established a strong pick and roll relationship. But if the Heat game was any indication. Hayes is ready to knock down threes as needed.

The Lakers have struggled with injuries this season, and Hayes himself was briefly sidelined with a knee injury. But he has since returned to the lineup and provided provided his usual energy from the bench.

Hayes has appeared in six games so far, including one start, logging just over 18 minutes per game. He averaged 6.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 76.2 percent from the field. Hayes was an unrestricted free agent this past offseason, but decided to re-sign with the Lakers even after a disappointing finish amid the team’s first-round elimination in the NBA playoffs.