A quick look at the roster is all it takes to know that the 2021-22 Lakers are going to be pretty good.
With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and more, the Lakeshow have their best roster in years, and certainly among the best in the NBA today.
But to say that squad has a chance to go down as the greatest team ever is more than questionable — it’s downright controversial.
Naturally, that’s exactly what 4x NBA Champion John Salley said in a recent chat when he stated his belief that a 74-win season (and a Championship to top it off) was attainable for this year’s Lakers.
“Their thing should be ‘hey fellas, we gotta win 74 games. Then they go down in history — better than the Golden State Warriors, better than the Chicago Bulls.
The problem with the Warriors is they won 73 games but lost the Championship. If these guys do the same thing, 73 wins, 74 wins, out of 82, and you win the Championship, it’d be the greatest team of All-Time.”
(start at 3:20)
Obviously a 74-win, Championship season would be the best stretch by any team in history and it would definitely put them above the Warriors and Bulls.
The question is, would that even be possible for this Lakers team?
By talent alone, maybe, but many of their premier players aren’t what they were years ago. LeBron James will turn 37 soon, Russell Westbrook will turn 33 in November, and Carmelo Anthony is not even a starter anymore.
The fact is, these Lakers aren’t the same team they appear to be on paper. We saw that last year, especially, when both LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggled to find their peak form.
In the end, only time will tell what this squad is capable of, but John Salley’s ambitions for them certainly fall on the optimistic end of things.
