Rich Paul just threw a bucket of cold water on the Lakers’ hot start. On the debut episode of his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman, LeBron James’ agent said he doesn’t see this version of the Lakers as a real threat.
“I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now. Not right now,” Paul said.
“I don’t think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals. When you go into the playoffs, we’ve seen last year, they ran into athleticism and length. They struggled. When you look at it now, athleticism, length, shooting, speed. Can the Lakers play fast? I don’t think so. That style of play is going to be very easy to guard when you get to the playoffs.”
It’s a pretty brutal assessment considering what’s actually happening on the floor. The Lakers sit at 17–6, second in the West heading into their matchup with the Spurs. Luka Doncic is in full “this is my league” mode, averaging 35.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.1 assists on 47.2% shooting, leading the NBA in scoring and flirting with a triple-double every night.
Defensively, the concerns are real. The Lakers own a defensive rating of 116.2, which puts them 21st in the league, and their overall net rating (+2.0) looks more like “very good playoff team” than “unquestionable juggernaut.”
That’s clearly a big part of what Paul is getting at: when the game slows down in the postseason, and you’re facing elite length and shooting every round, those weak spots get exposed. He said a similar thing after last year’s first-round loss, when he argued the previous roster “wasn’t anywhere close” to championship caliber.
So no, he’s not talking out of nowhere. The idea that this team has to prove it can defend at a top-10 level and play faster against young, long groups is fair. Where I think he might be wrong is in acting like this is already a finished product, capped out in December with no room to grow or adjust.
The Case For The Lakers As Real Threats
Start with the obvious: an MVP-level engine usually means you’re in the conversation, no matter what. Doncic is leading the league in scoring at 35.0 points per game, still creating a top-10 offense (118.3 offensive rating) almost by himself.
You can nitpick his defense or three-point percentage, but there’s no argument against his offensive ceiling. In a seven-game series, having the best player is still the simplest path to being a contender, and right now, there are maybe only two or three guys on earth you’d consider over him.
Austin Reaves is a big part of this Lakers’ offensive explosion. He averages 28.4 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.5 rebounds for the season, and goes to an unreal 40.0 points, 9.6 assists stat line when Doncic does not play.
Reaves has been putting himself in All-NBA conversations since the Opening Week, proving to be one of (if not the best) backcourt partners Luka Doncic has ever had as a secondary option.
Then there’s the “LeBron is cooked” narrative that refuses to die but keeps getting embarrassed by actual games. At nearly 41, he’s averaging 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.6 assists on 46.4% shooting, and when the Lakers needed him in Philly, he dropped 29-7-6 and closed the game like it was 2016 again.
He’s not the same every-night superstar, but as a second engine who can pick his spots and punish mismatches in the half court, he’s still more than enough.
Deandre Ayton might be the most underrated part of all this. He’s giving them elite play-finishing: 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and over 70% from the field with a 71.5% true shooting mark. That is insane efficiency for a big who doesn’t need post touches drawn up for him.
In the playoffs, you want simple actions you can spam: Doncic–Ayton pick-and-roll with shooters spaced, LeBron screening to create switches, then Ayton living on lobs and offensive rebounds. That’s a pretty nasty base offense before you even factor in Austin Reaves’ playmaking bump or the “Jake LaRavia hits four corner threes out of nowhere” game you know is coming in a series.
Paul’s critique about athleticism and speed is valid… to a point. The Lakers aren’t the Thunder or the Wolves. They’re not going to win series by outrunning you for 48 minutes. But they don’t have to.
They’re top-heavy with skill and size, and already showed in Philly they can drag a younger team into the mud and still close with star shot-making. In the playoffs, pace usually drops anyway. You’re playing half-court basketball, matchups, and sets, and that’s where having Doncic operating out of pick-and-roll with LeBron as a screener or secondary creator becomes a real problem for defenses.
The other piece Paul is glossing over is that it’s December 9, not April. The Lakers are 17-6, second in the West, with an MVP frontrunner, a hyper-efficient big, and LeBron still able to flip the switch when needed.
If this is the baseline, there’s plenty of room for internal growth (Reaves getting more comfortable as a playmaker, the defense tightening as roles settle) and external help. You know this front office will be hunting wings and perimeter defense at the deadline and on the buyout market.
Could Rich Paul be right that, today, the Lakers as currently constructed aren’t better than the Thunder? Sure. The defense isn’t where it needs to be, and they still feel one athletic, two-way wing short of being terrifying.
But calling them “not contenders” when they’re 17-6 with Doncic playing like the best player in the world and LeBron still looming in big moments feels like classic Klutch pressure tactics more than a neutral read of the situation.
If anything, his comments might age exactly the way a lot of LeBron-era drama does: as the prelude to a move. Give this team one more real rotation piece on the wing, let the defense climb from “bad” to just “average,” and suddenly that same roster Rich Paul is downplaying looks very capable of proving him wrong in May.
