Lebron James gave an honest assessment of the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday when he admitted they are not even the best NBA team in their own city to start the season.
The Lakers will be a team to watch in the 2022-2023 NBA season. Obviously, Los Angeles is always a prominent organization in the association every season, but this year more than others as they attempt to bounce back from a horrid ’21-’22 season.
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Due to their failures last season there will be several notable narratives surrounding the team. Firstly, Anthony Davis must overcome his career-long injury bug to help the Lakers return to the level that helped them win a championship in 2020. Next, can James maintain his elite play at the ripe old age of 37? Plus, will Westbrook recapture his All-Star form after a disastrous debut year in LA? However, most importantly, can new head coach Darvin Ham make it all work with the addition of point guards Dennis Schroder and Patrick Beverly?
Lebron James on state of the Los Angeles Lakers: ‘We are one of the teams that have to continue to learn on the fly and not waste a day’
The questions and storylines surrounding the team are why James was honest about the team’s current state heading into the start of the new season on Tuesday night. Following a loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday, and falling to 1-5 this preseason, the 18-time All-Star spoke about the current western conference landscape during his post-game media scrum. And how the Lakers are not on the level of certain teams in the conference, including their in-arena rivals the Los Angeles Clippers.
- Lebron James stats (2021-2022): 30.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.3 SPG
“I like the way our team’s constructed but we have to continue to work, because a lot of Western Conference teams, a lot of NBA teams right now have been together for a couple of years or a few years, and we haven’t. We can’t not have an opportunity to get better on a day-to-day basis. You look at the top teams in the west, you’ve got the Clippers, you’ve got Phoenix, you’ve got Denver, and that’s just to name a few of the teams that’s gonna come out ready to go right from the jump because of the chemistry they’ve had for quite a while now. We are one of the teams that have to continue to learn on the fly and not waste a day.”
-Lebron James on state of Lakers
The Lakers kick off the new season on opening night with a matchup against the defending champion Golden State Warriors on the road.