Jake LaRavia briefly became impervious to the rules of professional basketball on Sunday.
LaRavia and the Los Angeles Lakers played on Sunday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. In the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., the Lakers forward LaRavia got away with perhaps the worst missed double-dribble of all-time.
As he was bringing the ball up the floor, LaRavia appeared to be trying to pass to LeBron James. But James had his back turned at the time, causing LaRavia to awkwardly pick up his dribble.
Not to fear though for LaRavia because the referees [checks notes] simply allowed him to start dribbling again without blowing a whistle. Here is the video.
Jake LaRavia double dribble pic.twitter.com/7RYjZszVmu
— NBARESUMEN (@nbaresumen) January 5, 2026
Multiple Grizzlies players who were on the court at the time (such as Jaylen Wells and Jock Landale) immediately spotted the missed violation, as did a couple of Memphis players on the bench all the way on the other side of the floor. But the three referees who were working the game all apparently had their heads in the clouds there.
LaRavia, the first-year Laker, absolutely torched the Grizzlies (his former team), finishing with 26 points, five rebounds, and four assists as the Lakers went on to win by a 120-114 final score. Though he is far from a star player, LaRavia appears to have commanded a LeBron James-level of officiating hypnosis there.
