The Los Angeles Lakers' 2021-22 season is over far sooner than anyone expected, as the team was eliminated from playoff contention and failed to secure a spot in the play-in tournament. To say that the Lakers' 2021-22 season was disappointing would be perhaps the understatement of the year. A roster with future Hall of Famer LeBron James, superstar big man Anthony Davis and star guard Russell Westbrook had championship aspirations entering the season but often played like a team headed for the draft lottery. Now, an offseason bound to be filled with change awaits. James was asked about where he thinks the team must improve and answered how many might expect, saying they must get better on offense and defense while getting younger. Then, the Lakers star was questioned on if he believes the season was a failure. His response was particularly eye-opening, per ClutchPoints reporter Michael Corvo.

Per Corvo, James said that the Lakers' season wasn't a failure because the team “came to work every single day with their hard hats on.”

LeBron is making it seem like Los Angeles came to the arena every night and competed on every single possession but just fell short. While the statement is certainly a bit of a cliche, it's good that James is attempting to find at least something positive from the season.

However, if putting one's hard hat on is a sign of effort, then there wasn't as much of that as there could have been in Los Angeles this season, given that the Lakers were the third-worst defensive team in the league.

James remains one of the league's best players, though the team around him will have to get a lot better– and “put their hard hats on” on the defensive end if they want to put up a better showing next season.