The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers hosted a team-wide pickleball tournament this past Friday.

According to a Nov. 22 story in the Orange County Register by writer Khobe Price, forward Jake LaRavia and assistant coach Beau Levesque were crowned champions of the aptly named 2025 Lakers Pickleball Challenge.

LaRavia and Levesque defeated guard Luka Dončić and assistant coach Ty Abbott for the title.

Dončić played a lot of pickleball and padel this past summer as part of his offseason fitness program, so he was expected to play well in the tournament.

“Unsurprisingly, it was very competitive, with a lot of trash-talking,” said Head Coach JJ Redick, following Saturday's practice in El Segundo. “I had no part in making the teams. I just feel like the Luka-Ty pairing and the Beau-Jake pairing were a little unfair.”

Dončić and Abbott actually bested Redick's contingent en route to the championship match.

And the Slovenian genuinely enjoyed getting the better of his bench boss. 

“That was easy. Oh my God. He was so pissed. I loved it, every second of it,” mentioned Dončić. “I did lose in the finals. I was pissed after that. It was close, but my teammate needs to work on his game for sure. That was Ty. Call him out. He's all power, no elegance. He's all power. No touch.” 

The tournament was a team-building exercise during a break in their schedule.

“Any time we can get everyone in the same room, it’s beneficial,” said guard Gabe Vincent. “Whether it’s an activity, a conversation, a movie, film, practice, whatever the case may be. Especially if we can get off the court, just build some more chemistry, build some more symmetry, just get to know each other a little bit more.”

Forward LeBron James, meanwhile, was paired with forward Rui Hachimura and assistant coach Greg St. Jean.

They lost in the opening round to guard Austin Reaves and forward Jarred Vanderbilt.