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 points
- 13 rebounds
- 3 assists
- 1 steal
- 3 blocks
- 12-14 FG
- 4-4 FT
MORE: Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel set all-time NBA record as Duke rookie foes
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
— Kareemand Deandre Ayton. pic.twitter.com/iqIs0gw5Uw
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 31, 2026
MORE: Cavs’ Nae’Qwan Tomlin didn’t even play high school basketball
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.
