Subscribe
Follow Us
The clock is always ticking on the Los Angeles Lakers as long as LeBron James is on the roster. James is already about to turn 41 years old come December, and as elite of a player as he remains, even Father Time has to catch up to him at some point. James has been putting so much pressure on the Lakers front office this offseason to transform the team into a contending one, although only time will tell if the team they managed to put together will be good enough to compete.
The good news is that the Lakers at least did take some steps to rectify the most pressing problems that they faced during their five-game first-round series exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They added size to their frontcourt in the form of Deandre Ayton, who, despite earning himself a reputation for having a low motor and poor off-court habits, looms large as a major upgrade over Jaxson Hayes.
While it did cost them a beloved locker room member in Jordan Goodwin, the Lakers also bet on the upside that Marcus Smart brings to the table. Smart's past two seasons have been riddled with injuries, but he's only three years removed from winning the Defensive Player of the Year award.
With the NBA releasing the 2025-26 regular season schedule for all teams, all that's left now for fans is the anticipation over the start of next season, which will happen in around two months' time. On October 21, the new campaign will begin — with the Lakers taking on the Golden State Warriors at 10 PM E.T.
How will the 2025-26 season go for the Lakers? This is ClutchPoints' best attempt at predicting how the next campaign will go for this Purple and Gold squad with high hopes in Luka Doncic's first full season with the squad.
Lakers win 50+ games, earn top-three seed — again
With the way last season ended for the Lakers, it would not be obvious to the casual fan that they managed to win 50 games last season, earning themselves a top-three spot in the loaded Western Conference. They managed to accomplish that feat even though they had to weather the seismic change that involved letting go of Anthony Davis just to bring Doncic in — overhauling how the entire system worked.
First-time head coach JJ Redick deserves major props for maximizing the Lakers' personnel even though the Doncic trade required them to play a frenetic style of defense that, while it worked towards the end of the season, took a lot out of the team which had them gassed against the Timberwolves.
With a full offseason of preparation, there is no reason to expect the Lakers to do worse than they did last year. Their 18-10 record with Doncic on the roster last season translates to a 52-win campaign. Considering that Doncic has been hard at work this offseason in proving his doubters wrong, and now that he's had plenty of time digesting Redick's system, his first full season should be a much smoother ride than it was during his first few months as a Laker.
With Ayton basically under a contract year, he's sure to be motivated to do well as well — especially when he'll be spoonfed a lot of easy buckets by both Doncic and James. Now, it feels as though the Lakers are still a piece short. But their team, as presently constructed and with health permitting, should once again win 50 or more games.
LeBron James hands over the reins to Luka Doncic
For all of James' career, he's been the most ball-dominant player on his team. He can still thrive even without the basketball, learning how to play alongside another ball-dominant star when he took his talents to South Beach. But for the entirety of his career, his teams thrive when he commands the offense and dictates the tempo of the game.
However, James is now playing with Doncic — arguably the most ball-dominant player in today's NBA. Doncic is a wizard with the basketball — a one-man wrecking crew when he's on — and he's one of, if not outright the best floor-raiser in today's NBA. He makes his teammates better thanks to the sheer pressure he puts on defenses when he has the ball, creating plenty of open looks and space for others to thrive.
There's still a bit of a push and pull to the dynamic between James and Doncic, which is understandable considering that it was their first time playing alongside one another. But for the Lakers to reach its full potential, they will have to crown Doncic as the undisputed number one option — with James playing a role that's more similar to the one Davis played for them when he was on the team.
James can thrive on short rolls, and he can definitely punish mismatches on the post. At this point of James' career, he's better off saving those legs of his by not burning them on drives to the hoop or exhausting pick-and-roll initiation duties whenever he's sharing the floor with Doncic.
James averaged just 24.4 points per game last season — his worst output since his rookie campaign. Expect that number to drop even more next season, with Doncic threatening for the scoring title while flirting with a season-long triple-double average.
Purple and Gold make blockbuster trade — but hold on to Austin Reaves
It really does feel as though the Lakers still lack that one final piece to the puzzle of their title-contending roster. This Lakers squad, while talented, pales in comparison to that of the Oklahoma City Thunder's, the Denver Nuggets', or maybe even the Houston Rockets', at least on paper. Moreover, teams such as the Warriors and Timberwolves cannot be counted out.
It's not quite clear which player the Lakers can realistically bring in that could move the needle for them. Andrew Wiggins is an upgrade over Rui Hachimura, but considering how much the Miami Heat are demanding in a trade, LA is better off not engaging.
But not too many could have foreseen that the Lakers would be able to acquire Doncic, and at such a discounted price at that. Lakers exceptionalism will be at work again, allowing them to acquire a key piece, preferably a 3-and-D wing, at such a low cost once more.
Lakers make it to the second round of the playoffs at the very least
It doesn't happen very often that a James-led team couldn't make it past the first round. Doncic, who is one of the most esteemed playoff performers of the past five years, made it at least to the Conference Finals in two of his past three playoff appearances prior to his 2025 playoff debut with the Lakers.
The Lakers simply ran into the worst possible matchup for them in Round 1 against the Timberwolves — a supersized team that was built to punish teams with as thin of a frontcourt as the one they had. Rudy Gobert looked like Wilt Chamberlain out there on the boards, as he had to contend with Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith for rebounds in a matchup that was always going to have just one winner.
At the very least, the addition of Ayton makes the Lakers more matchup-proof, and Smart, provided that he remains healthy, should provide defensive and intangible boosts. James should also be more fresh for the playoff run considering that he'll be turning over the controls of everything to Doncic, embracing his role as a playmaking defensive disruptor, a much higher-level of the Draymond Green archetype.
Whatever the case may be, don't expect James and Doncic to falter in the first round yet again.
