The 2023-24 Los Angeles Lakers gather for Media Day on Monday, with training camp set to get underway on Tuesday. For the first time in years, the Lakers are entering camp with an exciting, deep squad with established chemistry — and utterly devoid of drama. Expectations are as high as they've been in LeBron's six years in Los Angeles, and Magic Johnson believes Rob Pelinka assembled a championship-caliber squad.

The Lakers have the fifth-lowest odds (+1200) to win the 2023-24 NBA championship, according to FanDuel.

“I’m excited,” Darvin Ham said at his preseason press conference, alongside Pelinka. “We were laughing upstairs, like, ‘People talking like now you got expectations.' Well, since I was five, six years old I had expectations. You wanna be a fireman when you grow up? There’s your expectations. Now they’re gonna expect something of you. Or a doctor, or a lawyer. No matter what route you choose in life, you’re going to have expectations. To me, that’s living. You don’t have any expectations around you, you’re just existing. I want to live. I came here for those expectations.”

Here's the training camp roster (everybody attended LeBron's minicamp in San Diego last week).

  • LeBron James
  • Anthony Davis
  • Austin Reaves
  • D’Angelo Russell
  • Rui Hachimura
  • Gabe Vincent
  • Jarred Vanderbilt
  • Taurean Prince
  • Max Christie
  • Jalen Hood-Schifino
  • Christian Wood
  • Jaxson Hayes
  • Cam Reddish
  • Maxwell Lewis
  • Colin Castleton (two-way)
  • Alex Fudge (two-way)
  • D’Moi Hodge (two-way)
  • Scotty Pippen Jr. (Exhibit 10)
  • Vincent Valerio-Bodon (Exhibit 10)
  • Damion Baugh (Exhibit 10)
  • Bryce Hamilton (Exhibit 10)

Lakers preseason schedule:

  • Oct. 7 — Lakers at Warriors
  • Oct. 9 — Nets at Lakers
  • Oct. 11 — Kings at Lakers
  • Oct. 13 — Warriors at Lakers
  • Oct. 15 — Bucks at Lakers
  • Oct. 19 — Suns at Lakers

These are five questions that can be answered as camp unfolds. One expected storyline — the starting point guard competition — was squashed by Ham. It will be Russell.

No. 5: Do any young guys stand out?

LeBron and AD are the only non-twenty-somethings at camp.

Castleton and Hodge impressed at Summer League. Castleton averaged a 13 and 9 and flashed nifty instincts in the halfcourt. (He recently scrimmaged with Vanderbilt and Reddish at Nico Hines' UCLA runs). Like Reaves (with whom he shares an agent), the seven-footer bypassed a second-round selection to incubate within the Lakers program. Reaves opened eyes at his first camp.

Hodge, who models his game after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, is a quintessential Ham Guy: grit, on-ball defense, hustle, and energy. He shoots about 40% from 3. Fudge, as raw as he is athletic, will be an intriguing project for the Lakers' prolific player development staff. The South Bay Lakers should be fun.

Maybe first-round pick Hood-Schifino can vie for limited run, as Ham surprisingly gave Christie early on. The 6'6 point guard has elite change-of-pace ability and expertly reads the floor. On the other hand, he shot 5-of-23 from 3 at Summer League, and his slow feet repeatedly got him cooked off the dribble.

Lewis, the no. 40 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, largely struggled in Vegas, though he did show off shooting chops and tantalizing bounce. Lewis won't play a major role this season, but he's signed for four years.

No. 4: Who will back up on the wing?

Speaking of young guys, a bulked-up Christie should have the leg up on Reddish for backup wing minutes. As a 19-year-old, Christie held his own during stints in the rotation; he shot 41.9% from downtown and showed a keen knack for defensive positioning and rebounding. At Summer League, he flashed enticing playmaking and shot-creation wrinkles. The defense, athleticism, poise, and IQ will be there. Can he knock down open looks? Hopefully, Reaves-Christie backcourts become a thing.

Maybe Reddish puts it all together as a versatile 3-and-D and enjoys a Malik Monk-esque reclamation. He'll get chances. Preseason performance could mean a lot.

No. 3: Is Rui the starting 3?

The Lakers have one starting spot still up for grabs: at the 3. Hachimura is the favorite to get the first crack.

If Rui shoots anywhere close to as well as he did in the playoffs (48.7% from 3) — a career anomaly to this point — the Lakers can thrive with him alongside LeBron and AD, at least on offense.

The defense could get trickier. Even though Ham considers LeBron position-less, he's undeniably spent the vast majority of his minutes as a 4 or small-ball 5 over the last two seasons. In Year 21, he can no longer stick with quick, rangy 3s.

Can Hachimura? It sounds like's he trying. He's slimmed down. According to Ham, he's been joining LeBron for early-morning workouts (LeBron has been calling Rui his “understudy”).

Vanderbilt, the regular post-deadline starter last season, is probably their best 1-on-1 wing defender, but his shooting woes and Swiss-Army Knife utility render him more useful off the bench. Prince, a respectable defender and career 37.2% 3-point shooter, is a sleeper candidate to start at some point.

I can envision the Lakers staggering Russell with Vando, while Vincent and Rui surround LeBron, Davis, and Reaves. In general, how the Lakers deal with large, athletic wings will be something to monitor.

(Another key question facing the Lakers is how the big rotation shakes out around AD. How often will the Lakers deploy two-big lineups? Do they have enough girth/defense behind Davis? Will Hayes challenge Wood for minutes? This won't be resolved until the season gets rolling.)

No. 2: How will Austin Reaves balance lead ball-handler and scoring?

Unsurprisingly, Reaves will be the Lakers starting 2, per Ham. However, the lifelong point guard — his preferred position — will surely get plenty of cracks to run the offense.

The Lakers were at their best last season when either LeBron or Reaves was the lead playmaker. Whether it's alongside a shooter like Russell (who insists he's not a point guard, anyway), Vincent, or in big lineups, Reaves should see consistent reps as lead ball-handler, and certainly in crunch-time (Pelinka said Reaves has the “Mamba gene”). Reaves was one of the most productive players for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, often in two-lead-guard lineups. Let's see how much point run he gets in camp and preseason.

I'm also looking to see how aggressive Reaves looks as a scorer. Reaves' first instincts are to pass and fit in before looking for his shot. Since the deadline (including playoffs), he's been a 50/40/90 guy and became an elite foul-drawer (on full display at the World Cup).

“That's one thing I pride myself on … is being efficient,” Reaves told ClutchPoints. “If you look at the guys I've played with, I didn't shoot the three good in my rookie year on fewer attempts, obviously. But if you look at the guys I'm playing with now … why am I going to go out there and take questionable shots? I'm going to take good shots. We have enough talent, so if everybody buys into that, we're going to get good looks every possession.”

Reaves isn't wrong. But he's a $54 million, franchise cornerstone now. He should be more selfish at times.

No. 1: What is LeBron and Anthony Davis' mindset?

In 2021, the Lakers — flush with Russell Westbrook and several accomplished veterans — were a tad overconfident at Media Day. Last year, with a rookie coach and awaiting a roster shakeup, they were appropriately reserved. (A terse LeBron strayed from setting expectations. “I’m gonna focus my game on being available,” he said when asked how to maximize the roster. Davis struck a similar tone.)

The vibes have indescribably improved. After an 18-8 finish to the season — a run that spurred LeBron to forego foot surgery and return — and playoff run, the Lakers largely ran it back, got younger, more athletic, and deeper. The coach proved his mettle. In August, the front office wasted no time to offer Davis a record extension. The buzz on his jumper is promising. The entire team is healthy entering camp.

Pelinka and Ham were all smiles and confidence on Thursday. There is no toxicity, tension, or awkwardness (for now) in the building. The GM even allowed the presser to run over time so everybody could get a question in (appreciate it, Rob!). For an entirely positive hour, the colleagues waxed poetic on their philosophical alignment, LeBron's “rookie year”-level preparation, and AD's “character, character, character.”

Beginning on Monday, I'm eager to see the tenor of the superstars throughout camp. For Davis, it'll be fascinating to see whether he steps into a more pronounced leadership role from the jump. As for LeBron … where will he set his expectations for the 2023-24 Lakers?