The Los Angeles Lakers are in this sort of weird transition phase. They know that time is running out on LeBron James' career. James dealing with a sciatica issue is a telltale sign of his age, and at this point, with the NBA's all-time leading scorer taking up a huge percentage of the team's salary cap, it will not be until next year or the year after that when the Lakers could build a team that's tailor-made for Luka Doncic.
Nevertheless, the Lakers have a very good team now. They did win 50 games last year after all, and they managed to at least maintain a similar level of talent up and down the roster. Gone is Dorian Finney-Smith, and in are Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia. Those pieces, on their own, are not needle-moving. But they do address certain positions of need.
Alas, James is already about to turn 41 by the end of the calendar year, and no one should be shocked if he slows down after many battles with injuries over the years. Even someone like James can slow down, as shocking as that may sound.
With James on the wrong side of the aging curve and Father Time bound to take over at some point, there might be a change in the pecking order for the Lakers.
To that point, here are two unrealistic bold predictions for the Lakers for the 2025-26 campaign.
Austin Reaves ends up being Lakers' total leading scorer, averaging over 30 points a night
On a roster with Doncic and James, no one would ever think about Austin Reaves being the leading scorer for the Lakers. But this is not just a bold prediction piece, this is also an article that calls into the forefront an unrealistic prediction for the Purple and Gold's upcoming campaign.
But for the Lakers to actually be a legitimate contender in the stacked West, Reaves may have to take his final step into true stardom. And that includes being one of the biggest scoring threats in the association — enough for him to average 30 points a contest.
With James out, there will be so many shots to go around the entire roster. James took 18.1 shots per contest last year, which means that amid his absence, there will be 18 more shots for the entire team.
Do Lakers fans want Rui Hachimura or Ayton to be taking those shots? Perhaps not. Hachimura can be impressive when he catches fire, but he's not a high-volume three-point shooter nor is he the most self-sufficient scorer. Ayton, for as many athletic gifts as he has, seems to settle for more difficult midrange shots instead of going up strong near the basket.
Doncic is a shoo-in for more usage, but he has a reputation for being one of the most dominant scorers in the association, which means that the defensive attention of most opponents will focus on slowing him down. Teams will send tons of double teams towards him, creating space for others, mostly Reaves, to work with.
Reaves' development as an offensive player is something to behold. Ever since he broke out in a starting role towards the end of the 2022-23 season, he has only gotten better in scoring the basketball. He averaged 20.2 points per game last year and upped both his three-point volume and efficiency (37.7 percent on 7.3 attempts per game), and his true shooting percentage remained at 61.6 percent even though he was more involved in the offense.
Reaves is only 27 years of age and he is in the middle of his prime, so he has plenty of room to get better still. Even better, Reaves' averages when James was out last year suggest that he's in for a monster season.
In nine games without James last year, Reaves put up 27.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per contest on 49/43/91 shooting splits. It might be surprising to some, but Reaves has become a fringe All-Star player for the Lakers, and he might make it to his first All-Star game this year if he manages to maintain the same pace he had last year with James out.
The 27-year-old guard is the complete package offensively, as he can put defenders through the ringer similar to how Doncic does. He can be annoying to deal with when he gets into his foul-baiting tendencies (he averaged five free throws per game last year), and he can get his shot off anytime, anywhere.
Him averaging over 30 points per game, even when James returns, is not out of the question, especially if the current oldest active player in the NBA cedes more control of the offense to his younger teammates.
Now, it's far-fetched that he'll score more total points than Doncic next season. But Doncic missed some time last year and appears to be more likely to do so this season than Reaves.
As far as unrealistic predictions are, this one actually has a reasonable pathway to coming to fruition.
LeBron James misses over half the season
The most games James has missed in a single season is 27, during the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons. He also missed 26 games during the 2021-22 campaign. But James has been healthy for the Lakers these past two seasons, missing just 23 games total.
But James is a year older, and it's downright concerning that he's about to miss the start of the season with a nerve injury that tends to linger, especially when one ages.
James, however, has a luxury that he hasn't had for most of his career — he's no longer the best player on the roster. He doesn't have to be the first option on a nightly basis. That responsibility belongs to Doncic, and Reaves has shown himself as being more than capable of being a secondary star-level shot-creator/playmaker.
Thus, James can rest and take his sweet time getting himself up to full speed and full health, and the Lakers won't have to suffer much on the court. Doncic has proven himself capable of carrying undermanned teams to the postseason; James, at the end of the day, can reserve his best basketball for when the postseason hits.
Do not be surprised if James misses over half the season.
