by Bryce Yang
The Lakers are one of the most successful franchises in American sports history. They've won a total of 12 championships since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. Because the season is just starting, let's take a look at their chances of doing well this year.
Austin Reeves, coach JJ Redick & Luka Doncic
The returning players of the starting line up are Luka Doncic as point guard, Austin Reeves as shooting guard, and Jake Laravia as power forward. In the starting lineup, the players who have joined this season are Quentin Grimes, the small forward, and Walker Kessler as their center. Quentin Grimes was the 5th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, and his career high in points is 46. Walker Kessler, on the other hand, is known for his elite rim protection and shot blocking. Kessler was voted 3rd for Rookie of the Year in the 2022-2023 NBA season. Since Lebron James left the Lakers, Luka and Austin Reaves are expected to step up and to take over leadership positions on the court. Some important bench rotations are Collin Sexton as point guard and Sandro Mamukelashivilli as the power forward.
The Lakers haven’t won a championship since 2020. This may be surprising due to their reputation of being one of the most dominant teams in NBA history. There are a couple of reasons why they have struggled to stay at the top. First, the Lakers have many key players who have suffered injuries. For example, Luka Doncic, Austin Reeves, Lebron James, and Marcus Smart all were injured during last year's playoff, which ultimately derailed their run. In addition, some of our players have been showing their age.
Also, many analysts say that the Lakers rely too much on their offense. For example, Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves are the main players in the Lakers and they only focus on offense. Luka is known for being lazy on defense and can’t defend quicker guards. In addition, Austin Reeves is known for having trouble guarding bigger opponents. Hopefully, with the addition of Walker Kessler, this season’s Lakers will be better able to defend inside the paint.
For the 2026 season, Lakers are getting better at bringing in well-balanced players and teammates who are on the younger side. For example, the Lakers just recently acquired Walker Kessler. He’s only 25 years old, and he’s a great player under the rim.
So far into the season, the Lakers’ record is 6-2. All the players, especially Luka, had been doing great. Luka averages 38.3 points, 8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game. Also, he is leading the NBA in scoring right now. Another person who's been stepping up is Austin Reeves. He averages about 23 points per game and is playing at an All-Star level. Someone who’s been surprisingly doing really well is Walker Kessler. He averages 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. One big change the Lakers have already made is that they replaced Quientim Grimes with Matisse Thybulle as a starter. The reason for this was because Grimes hasn't been shooting too well and he frequently passes up open three pointers. This shows that this year, coach JJ Redick is responding quickly to changing circumstances if players aren’t performing.
So far the Lakers have been doing really well and have a chance to improve their performance from last year. If the Lakers keep up the good work and keep making improvements, I'm sure they’ll do great this season and, hopefully, into the post-season! For more info on the season, including the schedule and stats on the players, check out the Lakers
