The 2025-26 season is officially underway, and the Lakers have begun their latest quest to win the title. This year, it started on opening night against a very familiar foe: the Golden State Warriors.
After clashing in the 2023 playoff series, these two teams met again, but it didn’t go the way Lakers fans hoped. Without LeBron James, who is out with a sciatica injury, they didn’t play up to the standards we’ve come to expect. By the start of the second quarter, patience was already wearing thin from having to watch both teams exchange so many sloppy turnovers.
“Warriors and Lakers have 23 combined turnovers in one half? Yeah this is gonna be hard to watch,” wrote one bored viewer.
Going into halftime, the situation improved thanks to Rui Hachimura, who made two threes within the final 90 seconds. A big shot from Luka Doncic also pulled the Lakers closer in reach, although the Warriors still held a one-point lead (55-54) after the first two quarters.
“Luka is in much better physical shape tho and you can tell because he’s blowing by defenders with that first step off that hesi,” wrote CussTheLegend on X.
While Luka’s hot shooting kept the Lakers alive, they couldn’t get enough going offensively to keep up with Golden State. Besides Luka and Austin Reaves, the Lakers looked lost, and many fans have already seen enough.
“Some of y’all gonna soon realize how badly you took LeBron for granted for his entire Lakers tenure,” wrote one Lakers fan on X.
Despite the score (119-109), it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Lakers Nation. It’s still early enough that some have hope for better days ahead. When LeBron James comes back, who knows what might happen?
“Our team can beat any team in the league, but we need chemistry. Saw some glimpses of what could be an actual contender, but we have to do better with the ball and free throws,” wrote another Lakers fan after the buzzer.
Naturally, fans began to speculate on early trade candidates for the Lakers. Among other names, Andrew Wiggins has surfaced as someone the team should consider.
“Lakers sure look like a team that could use Andrew Wiggins,” wrote a fan. “Sucks he wasn’t available for trade this summer Rob would’ve been all over him.”
The Warriors became the second team to win a game this season, thanks to Stephen Curry, who led them with 23 points and four assists. Jimmy Butler added 32 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Draymond Green finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and nine assists on 50% shooting.
For the Lakers, Luka Doncic dropped 42 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, while Austin Reaves scored 26 points on 56.3% shooting. Deandre Ayton totaled 10 points in his first game as a Laker, along with six rebounds and one block.
One game is hardly a whole season, but it can still tell us a lot about what to expect the rest of the way. In the case of the Lakers, it seems they still need LeBron James to be relevant in the title picture.
For now, all the Lakers can do is regroup and build chemistry while waiting for their leader to return. It’s still early, and one loss doesn’t define a season, but the message is clear: until LeBron James is back on the floor, the Lakers have work to do if they want to live up to championship expectations.
