The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James will hope for a better season than last year, especially with the addition of a new head coach and promising rookies.
Last season, the Lakers began slow but grew into the thick of the action, led by te evergreen talents of LeBron James and dominance of Anthony Davis.
Both stars were phenomenal, with Davis reaffirming his status as a force to be reckoned with on both ends (24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game).
LeBron James set to lead the Lakers again in year 22
James led the team in scoring (25.7 ppg), assists (8.3 apg), and steals (1.3 spg).
Will LeBron James stay with the Lakers after elimination from the NBA Playoffs.
However, the rest of the team struggled with inconsistency and underperformance.
This ultimately led to their downfall, as the Denver Nuggets eliminated them for the second consecutive postseason.
That Playoff failure saw the Lakers replace Darvin Ham with JJ Redick.
While Redick’s playing experience and brief TV career demonstrate his basketball knowledge, his lack of coaching experience raises concerns.
The team fulfiled a promise made to their superstar player by drafting his oldest son Bronny James, a move that raised eyebrows across the league, with many citing LeBron’s influence in his son landing a guaranteed 4-year contract.
Davis and LeBron are what they are, high level performers, but role players must step up to avoid another disaster like last season, as their star player enters year 22.