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The Los Angeles Lakers got demolished in Friday's Summer League contest versus the Memphis Grizzlies. They lost by a final score of 100-69 in a game that was practically over by the end of the first quarter, as the Lakers trailed 24-9 at the end of one. But despite the blowout loss, there were some positive takeaways from the game for the Lakers.
Namely, 25-year-old guard LJ Figueroa starred off the bench for Los Angeles. He finished with 15 points — one 7-for-10 shooting from the field and 1-for-1 from behind the three-point arc — grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists, and came up with one steal in the loss.
And while Figueroa played great basketball on Friday, there was one play he made that stood out as the most impressive of them all. Figueroa threw down a monster putback dunk off a teammate's miss. And after the game, Figueroa spoke to the media and reacted to the putback slam, per a tweet from ClutchPoints' official Twitter account:
"The guys was just talking about it in the locker room. I told them it wasn't my best dunk but I had just seen it and it might be my best dunk."
Lakers LJ Figueroa talks about his dunk in the game vs. the Grizzlies 😅
(via @michaelcorvoNBA) pic.twitter.com/4K1VY98kzM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 15, 2023
LJ Figueroa, 25, spent the 2022-23 season playing for the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles' G-League affiliate. He averaged 16.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 1.3 turnovers, and 2.6 personal fouls per game across 32 games with the South Bay Lakers (23 starts).
Despite how well Figueroa played on Friday, it's unlikely that it was enough to convince the Lakers to add him to their roster. After all, the Lakers already have plenty of depth at the guard positions, especially after they signed Gabe Vincent and re-signed Austin Reaves in NBA free agency this summer.
