According to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, “analytics” guys, and a whiteboard in the locker room, the Los Angeles Lakers had a 0.3% chance of making the NBA Playoffs after beginning the 2022-23 regular season with a 2-10 record.

Or, another way to look at it, to paraphrase Lloyd Christmas: So they were telling the Lakers that they had a chance.

Either way, after the Lakers' part-ugly, part-gritty 108-102 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, they can forget about the other 99.7%. The Lakers locked up the No. 7 seed and will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Postgame, Darvin Ham wrote the “0.3%” figure on the board in the Lakers' locker room.

LeBron and AD provided some backstory to the figure — which perfectly encapsulates the Lakers' jarring turnaround, spearheaded by a slew of nifty trades.

“When we were 2-10, the analytics guys said we had a 0.3 (%) chance of making the postseason,” said LeBron, who dropped 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists on the Wolves. “So, all you ask for is a chance I guess. So for us to turn around our season and give ourselves an opportunity to compete for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, that's all you can ask for.”

Including Tuesday's game, the Lakers are now 17-7 since the All-Star break — the second-best record in the NBA. Regardless of health, standings, or behind-the-scenes tension (pre-deadline), Darvin Ham's squad, as they did on Tuesday, has steadfastly relied on hustle, defensive effort, and scrappiness — along with LeBron and AD's production — to claw back into the playoff picture.

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Resiliency (a quality utterly absent from the 2021-22 squad) has largely defined the 2022-23 Lakers. They're the sixth team in NBA history to turn a 2-10 start into a playoff berth. Fittingly, they missed 10 of their first 11 shots on Tuesday and needed a 15-point second-half comeback to fend off the Timberwolves.

“We talked about it Sunday, just how crazy it is to start 2-10 and we're fighting for a playoff spot,” said Davis, who had 24 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks vs. Minnesota. “And then now … get in as a 7-seed is unreal. We definitely feel like we deserve it. We're supposed to be here. We work too hard and put in the work to get in this position. But, yeah, that's where we started. 2-10. And, the analytic guys and the media upstairs in our front office, everything, said we had a 0.3% chance of getting to the playoffs. Obviously, we defeated those odds. But we don't want to stop there.”

The Lakers will profoundly enjoy four days off to rest and scout ahead of Game 1 on Sunday afternoon at FedExForum. Los Angeles opened up as a slight underdog against the second-seeded Grizzlies. Somebody should tell LeBron and AD, because, unlike Han Solo, it apparently benefits the Lakers to know the odds. Take that for data.