The 2021-22 NBA season was one full of frustrations for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. There were a lot of expectations on the team before the season started and to say they failed to live up to those would be an understatement.
LeBron was great on the offensive end at the very least, as he always is, but no one else stepped up at all. It ended up being the worst season of the LeBron James era in LA as they only won 33 games and missed the playoffs, which led to the team retooling their roster for the upcoming season.
LeBron James Says Defense Is The One Thing The Lakers Want To Improve On From Last Season
One of the main issues with the roster last season was that they had a lot of older players, which meant they were pretty terrible on defense. The Lakers finished 21st in Defensive rating last season (112.8) which was a drastic drop-off from the season prior to that, where they finished first (106.8). They have signed a lot of younger players who can defend this time around while not retaining their role-playing veterans and LeBron stated during their media day for the 2022-23 season that defense is what the Lakers want to improve on.
“Defense. And obviously, you got to be able to put the ball in the hole for sure. In our league, there’s been some great teams that can do that but teams that can defend and can get stops when needed, they’re just simply more successful in our league. So, I think the defensive side of the floor is where we’re going to be hammering home on every single day and understanding if we can just make teams take tough shots. Keeping the one shot at the goal and then rebound and secure the ball and put us in a position to be successful throughout the season.”
New head coach Darvin Ham has also been talking a lot about focusing on the defensive end and they will need to make some big strides there if they are to have a good season. Anthony Davis, staying healthy would be important for that and they have also brought in Patrick Beverley to shore up that defense.
LeBron also has some personal milestones to look forward to this season, with the biggest being becoming the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. He spoke about being on the verge of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the top spot during media day and it is going to be a very special moment when he finally accomplishes it.
