The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers team is being touted as the “Old Guys” of the league. The reason behind is simple, the Lakers recruited so many veterans that the roster is the oldest in the league by a healthy margin.
This strategy is a double-edged sword for the organization. On one hand, you get a lot of playoff experience and players who have honed their skills over the years in the NBA. The downside? Injury troubles. Lakers forward Trevor Ariza was recently injured and will miss around eight weeks of action. As the season moves forward, the schedule will only get tougher.
It could lead to the Lakers not being at their full strength when it matters the most, i.e., the playoffs. On a similar note, Instagram page Sway posted on their account featured a comparison of the LA Lakers’ current players during their rookie season. The difference between them is pretty drastic. But it is not that old teams have never won NBA championships in league history. There have been quite a few old teams that have won it all. But can the Lakers do it? That remains a huge question.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUjECC-lnbv
Another takeaway from the image is that LeBron James is once again part of a super team. NBA fans of course noticed it and pointed it out in the comments section. Apart from that, there were many hilarious reactions to the post as well. Here are some of the best reactions posted by NBA fans on the IG post.
jrmn06: “Another Lebron’s Súper team, how many times…”
deion_baze12: “Lebron is not that small “
guillaume_5000: “Retirement house.”
teddyv03: “y’all forgot about AD?”
elbeanerwiener: “Why is rookie Carmelo the only one in a non-white jersey??”
williammaestro: “Wow ! Imagine all of them in their prime on the same team ! Scary “
rev7n: “Can’t figure out which ones the most recent between Russ n bazemore.”
jaydee267: “And whats so crazy about that !? We have seen the same post 10 times already over the past 2 weeks. Yes the Lakers players were once younger and played for other teams “
jamaljimoh: “feels like a miss not putting AD in this.”
austin_harlan: “Why is Dwight 7’7 and lebron 6’3?”
brendan4it: “The nba prolly saving a fortune with all the material they ain’t using on shorts.”
zubaidy824: “Rondo and Westbrook look pretty much the same. Can’t say the same for the rest.”
LeBron certainly looks pretty short in the graphic while Dwight looks taller than usual. Apart from that, most players look pretty accurate. Anyway, as it has been pointed out earlier that the Lakers are old and it is surprising to see it is still bugging many.
At the end of the day, the players are still capable enough to still be in the NBA at this age. So, once again, if the Lakers can manage to stay fit throughout the season, they shouldn’t face any huge troubles and will most likely be crowned the 2022 NBA champions.
