With December 22nd recently confirmed as the start date of the 2020-21 season, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers now have a little over a month to rest and recuperate before their title defense commences. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has spoken out about the same, and he's adamant as to which team will serve as L.A.'s biggest threat to a repeat.

According to Smith, no other team in the NBA will pose a bigger challenge to the Lakers than the Golden State Warriors:

“For a simple reason, it doesn’t need to be complicated, like some people might try to make it, they have the greatest shooting backcourt known to man,” Smith said on First Take, via Alex Didion of NBC Sports. “There has never been anybody, a backcourt in NBA history, that can shoot like these brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.”

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There are no lies here. The Warriors had a miserable run in the 2019-20 season–they ended up with literally the worst record in the entire league with 15 wins against 50 losses–simply because both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were sidelined with injuries. Both players will be back for the Dubs to start the new campaign, and much like Smith, many consider the Warriors to mount a serious challenge to the title this coming season.

Smith was also emphatic–as always–about his belief in how Curry and Thompson represent the greatest backcourt in the history of the sport. It's also hard to argue against his point here, given how the two have terrorized the league for many years.

Nevertheless, LeBon James and the Lakers will certainly be up for the challenge.