With the 2025-26 NBA season rapidly approaching, fans of the Los Angeles Lakers have been fiercely debating how good JJ Redick's current squad is versus the rest of the Western Conference.
With the reigning NBA Champions currently calling the conference home, and teams like the Houston Rockets making major moves to get better, the West is going to be a hard one to win, but in the opinion of ESPN's Kendrick Perkins, the Lakers have a real shot at doing just that.
That's right, in an appearance on Road Trippin, Perkins broke down where LA fits on the Western Conference road map, and why, at full strength, the Lakers are as dangerous as almost anyone.
“In my opinion the Lakers are the third-best team in the NBA. All three teams that I have that are top three are in the Western Conference. OKC, Houston Lakers. Great depth, Jared Vanderbilt is finally coming back. He’s finally healthy coming into training camp,” Perkins noted.
“Remember he had surgery on both of his ankles or both of his feet. That s**t ain't easy to come back from. Austin Reaves, looking for him to have another breakout type season. He was a certified number three option last year. As far as me, I’m loving the Lakers right now. Do I have them picked to win it all? No, but I do have them top three. Top three as far as title contenders.”
When it comes to predicting how good the Lakers will the lead-up to any season, it's hard to find an unbiased opinion, with Perkins himself a noted LeBron James fan who seemingly always has his back when the wolves come out. And yet, while some may say the Lakers should be behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team they lost to in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, or even the re-tooled Denver Nuggets, in the end, the Lakers should be healthier and added a few quality players to their roster over the summer, so when the season comes to an end next spring, they should be right back in the mix.
