The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in the NBA. The franchise has 17 NBA Championships to its name. Despite having such a rich history, the Lakers have seen a lot of ups and downs over the last decade or so.
Following Kobe Bryant’s decline and ultimately retirement, the Lakers went into a rebuilding phase. Fortunately, they were rescued from it by the arrival of LeBron James. Or at least, that’s what everyone thought would happen. James’ time with the Lakers hasn’t exactly been ideal.
Although he and Anthony Davis have led the Lakers to an NBA Championship together, they haven’t had much success in other seasons. Most recently, the Lakers were unable to even qualify for the playoffs in the 2021-22 NBA season.
It was shocking since the Purple and Gold had a very busy offseason. Anyway, as for this offseason, they are expected to make a stunning comeback. But for that to happen, the Lakers not only need the best from LeBron James and Russell Westbrook but also Anthony Davis to stay healthy.
Since there are a lot of “ifs” around the Lakers, there aren’t many who believe that the Lakers will be a top 5 team in the Western Conference next season.
Via ESPN:
The Summer Forecast panel believes L.A. will barely surpass .500 in 2022-23. The Lakers stumbled to a 33-49 mark a year ago as LeBron James, Anthony Davis and a slew of other players dealt with injuries while Russell Westbrook had to shoulder much of the load — and the blame. The Lakers enter the new year with a new coach in Darvin Ham, and so far they’ve skewed much younger on their free agency additions.
For the 2022-23 NBA season, Lakers fans are hoping that their team can at least re-enter the playoff picture. Rest of the things come after that.
Even with a roster featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, ESPN experts do not believe the Lakers have a sure-shot chance of advancing to the playoffs.
