It's hard to be your best in the NBA when your body is not cooperating in the ways it needs to. Ben Simmons is someone who serves as a prime example of that, and up until this Los Angeles Lakers season, so did Jarred Vanderbilt.
The health of the Lakers forward had seriously dampened his overall impact on the last two campaigns in Los Angeles. Vanderbilt only played a total of 65 games when combining 2023-24 and 2024-25. Even when the two-way force was available, he was not at his best.
That was troublesome for the Lakers, considering Vanderbilt's extension kicked in last season.