Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believes it’s “unfair” to put any expectations on the team as it begins year one under new head coach JJ Redick.
“I don’t have any expectations,” James said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And that’s unfair to put any expectations on us right now. The only thing that we can count on each other is how we come to practice and come to work every day.”
To be frank, the Lakers have more to worry about than outside expectations. They’re entering a new era under Redick, the former longtime shooting guard who’s moving from podcasting and ESPN analyst roles to the sidelines as an NBA head coach.
For now, the Lakers need to worry about themselves and figuring out who they want to be. Per McMenamin, Redick gathered the team for a dinner in Beverly Hills that in essence served to lay the groundwork for the season.
“It was kind of the first time that we all really got together as a team in one setting,” Lakers guard Max Christie said, per McMenamin.
“JJ and the staff had a big presentation for us about kind of like team values, ground rules … so we can kind of wrap everybody around an identity that we want to have as a team so we’re one coherent unit.”
Teams and players have more than enough to be concerned about internally and don’t necessarily need to worry about outside noise. San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, for one, doesn’t seem to care.
Regarding James’ quote, though, people can look at James’ comments and wonder if he’s tempering any preconceived notions of expected success for the team. McMenamin gave some context there:
“LeBron James did his best to shield his team from any premature pressures that could come with optimism surrounding Redick’s addition. After all, it stands to reason that with how effective James and Anthony Davis looked at the Olympics, the Lakers returning a core roster that made it to the conference finals two seasons ago and adding a new coach, they could be considered contenders. But that label could only magnify any early-season growing pains the team could experience.”
The Lakers are going to have a bright spotlight on them because of the franchise’s popularity and the fact that a player in the GOAT conversation stars for it. However, it’s also possible, for what it’s worth, that the expectations may not be so great. The latest FanDuel Sportsbook odds have the over/under win total at a barely above-average 42.5, and L.A. is just a -110 favorite to make the Western Conference playoffs.
For now, though, the Lakers seem most concerned with taking it one day at a time and building something from the ground up.
“It’s a collision course for all of us,” James said, per McMenamin. “We’re all learning on the fly.”
James also said it was a “great first day” of training camp for the Lakers, calling it “very detail-oriented” as well.
As for the games, L.A. opens the preseason on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That’ll also be the team’s regular-season opener opponent on Oct. 22.