Nick Wright believes that LeBron James skipping the All-Star Game is a huge positive for the Los Angeles Lakers‘ championship aspirations. On First Things First, Wright argued that LeBron sitting out suggests that he truly believes the Lakers have a legitimate shot at winning it all. If LeBron felt otherwise, Wright pointed out, he likely would have played in the exhibition game rather than prioritizing rest and recovery.
“I saw Luka play the Thunder last year. I saw a bunch of guys, and you look at it, and people are like, ‘Oh, well, the Mavs shot out of their minds.’ They shot almost 40% from three for the series. I understand that, but go back and watch it.”
“Until Game 6, one of the reasons they were shooting at that level was because they were getting wide-open threes, since the defense collapses on Luka.”
“And if you have another supercomputer alongside him in LeBron, that, to me, is just—almost all of the true contenders have built a roster factoring in that, at some point, we’re going to have to deal with a Tatum, a Luka, or a LeBron. We need an Aaron Gordon. We need a guy who can be out there. Nobody’s got two of them.”
“That’s why I said Boston might, because I think Tatum and Brown would just be like, ‘You know what? We can do it.’ Again, people can say that I am too optimistic about this, but I think it is a great sign for the Lakers’ chances that LeBron sat the All-Star Game out.”
“And by that, I mean he only does that if he actually believes, ‘We might win it. We could maybe win a championship.’ And LeBron, when he was asked early in the year—and I know some people didn’t like it—but he’s been very honest the last few years with the Lakers, like, ‘No, we’re not a championship-caliber team.”
“We’re good, but we’re not championship caliber.’ I do think things like the streaks matter to LeBron. I think knowing that, he knew he had the best team. They won the All-Star Game without him. You know what I mean? I think that he likes playing with Steph. I think there’s a lot of stuff where he would have wanted to play.”
“I think he didn’t play because he’s like, ‘Man, we got 30 games and then potentially four playoff rounds.’ And the fact that he believes it means his basketball brain has done the math on what they’re good at, what they’re not going to be good at, and is like, ‘Ah, I think we got a shot.'”
“And I just think that we’re yet to see one game this year—because they’ve only played together twice—where both these guys are anywhere close to full strength. And I just don’t know what the swing of that offense is going to be.”
“Last year, the Mavs played basically seven guys the whole postseason. So you have Luka, LeBron, AR, Rui, and then Jaxson Hayes when you want to play big, and then Vanderbilt and Dorian Finney-Smith. There’s your seven guys.”
“That is a playoff rotation. I don’t mind those seven guys. And everyone there is 6’7″ and long. They just don’t have the big. I think they’re a dangerous, dangerous team.”
Wright emphasized that LeBron has always been brutally honest about the Lakers’ title chances in recent years. In the past, when asked about their championship potential, LeBron was clear that they were not at that level.
This year, however, his decision to skip the All-Star Game and prepare for the final stretch of the season indicates that his basketball instincts are telling him something different. According to Wright, LeBron only makes these calculated decisions if he believes the team has the right pieces to compete in the playoffs.
The Lakers have quietly put together a strong season. They currently sit 5th in the Western Conference with a 32-20 record. More importantly, they are just three games behind the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and only half a game behind the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets. The gap between the contenders in the West is slim, meaning a strong finish to the regular season could easily push the Lakers into a higher seed.
Wright also pointed out that the last time LeBron truly believed he had a championship-caliber team was in 2021. That season, the Lakers were considered favorites to repeat as champions, but injuries to both LeBron and Anthony Davis derailed their season.
Since then, things have been disappointing: 2022 was a nightmare season, 2023’s Conference Finals run was admirable but ultimately fell short, and 2024 ended in a first-round exit. This time around, however, LeBron’s actions suggest that he believes the Lakers are in a real position to contend again.
Another key factor Wright discussed is the potential of the LeBron and Luka Doncic duo in the playoffs. While LeBron remains in Los Angeles, he and Luka would be two of the smartest offensive players in the postseason, and the Lakers have built their roster in a way that mirrors how championship teams prepare for the elite talents of the NBA.
As Wright mentioned, teams that expect to go deep in the playoffs prepare for stars like Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, or LeBron himself by assembling long, athletic wings capable of playing physical defense. The Lakers have built a roster with that in mind.
Wright laid out a possible seven-man playoff rotation that he believes could be dangerous. He highlighted LeBron, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Dorian Finney-Smith as key contributors alongside Luka. While the Lakers may not have a dominant big man, their size, length, and experience make them a dangerous team.
With LeBron fully locked in, the Lakers gaining momentum, and the Western Conference wide open, Wright thinks this team could be poised for a deep run. LeBron skipping the All-Star Game isn’t a sign of decline—it’s a sign that he sees something special in this team.
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