With the league making a seismic shift to more small-ball, the Los Angeles Lakers did not commit significant resources to manning the center position. JaVale McGee was signed in free agency, Ivica Zubac remained on the roster and Mortiz Wagner was selected in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Thus far, Zubac has struggled, Wagner only recently returned from a knee contusion, and Jonathan Williams was signed to a two-way contract after being waived because going small was not panning out.
Meanwhile, McGee has been nothing short of impressive for the Lakers. His 3.3 blocks per game lead the NBA, and McGee is also providing a scoring punch to the tune of 15.