While the 2020 Lakers were a dominant team that rampaged through the playoffs, the following years were filled with misery and disappointment. Let's take a detailed look.
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#nba #lakers
contact@tablerock.com
I make all kinds of long-form NBA content which include player stories, analysis, breakdowns, and historical topics. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video!
► X: https://www.x.com/@andyhoopsyt
► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andyhoopsyt
► Music:
Black Vortex by Kevin MacLeod
Movement Proposition by Kevin MacLeod
Faster Does It by Kevin MacLeod
Sardana by Kevin MacLeod
Our Story Begins by Kevin MacLeod
Basic Implosion by Kevin MacLeod
Rising by Kevin MacLeod
Super Power Cool Dude by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 (incompetech.com)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
► Sources:
Stats and box-scores from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com, Statmuse.com, PBPstats.com
#nba #lakers
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SportsTranscript
00:00And that's it, it's over. This historic 2020 NBA championship belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers.
00:07The Lakers conquer the bubble.
00:09The Mickey Mouse ring, La Mickey, the bubble champions, whatever you want to call it.
00:14The fact is, the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers had one of the most dominant playoff runs ever.
00:20Losing just three games before reaching the finals with a very well-constructed roster that included a plethora of three
00:26-point shooting,
00:27feisty defenders, a deep bench, and a strong rotation that included old aging veterans
00:32who used whatever was left in the tank to have one final spectacular playoff run.
00:36Up ahead, beautiful touch out of Dwight Howard. A 13-1 Laker run.
00:43It was the most complete roster of the LeBron era in Los Angeles,
00:47and the only roster that didn't have any glaring problems like the ones that followed.
00:52And what followed was six years of failed attempts to recapture that glory.
00:56Six years of failed trades, injuries, and crippling holes in their roster every year that they could never fix.
01:02Oh boy, that did not look good. Anthony Davis.
01:06Let's take a detailed look year by year at everything that went wrong following their 2020 championship,
01:12as the LeBron James era concluded with just one ring in eight seasons.
01:27In a season where the Lakers looked to repeat and defend their title, there were several major changes.
01:33For one, their team lost a handful of veterans that played a major role in their previous championship,
01:38which included Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, and Dwight Howard.
01:42But most importantly, LeBron and Anthony Davis were injured for a significant chunk of the year.
01:47They got injured in different parts of the season too, so they played only 27 games together.
01:52And it resulted in a very early playoff exit in the first round, as their team slipped down the standings.
01:58The thing is, this was seen as a transitional period for the Lakers,
02:01and they looked to make a big splash in the 2021 offseason.
02:06Perhaps they didn't need to do that though.
02:09Maybe they could have just tried to stay healthy and run it back,
02:12because in the games Davis and LeBron appeared in,
02:15they had a net rating of plus 11 on the court at the same time.
02:18One of the best of any duos in the league.
02:21It was health that was the biggest obstacle, not the actual roster itself.
02:25The Lakers could have very well kept the same team intact and try again,
02:29but as you know, that's not how the Lakers operate.
02:32When they see a chance to make a big splash in the offseason, oh, you know they will.
02:40Throughout the Lakers' storied history,
02:42there is one formula that almost never failed when the franchise has encountered hard times.
02:47Recruit another superstar.
02:49For a team that already boasted LeBron James and Anthony Davis,
02:52this was the clearest path to recovery after their title defense in 2020-21 fell woefully short.
02:59So, in an offseason where the Lakers really didn't need to make any drastic changes,
03:03it was surrounded by rumors of a potential acquisition that dominated the headlines.
03:08Russell Westbrook.
03:10LeBron, AD, and the Lakers brass met with him several times,
03:14hung out, had dinner with him several times,
03:16in a massive recruitment effort that made even the Kawhi Leonard recruitment seem mild years before this.
03:22However, unlike most other situations,
03:25this time, even the Lakers fanbase felt kinda concerned about this.
03:30Westbrook, shot clock winding down, lines it up.
03:32Wow.
03:34For one, Westbrook, we all knew he was great in his prime,
03:38but he was well past his prime.
03:40He had a great year with the Wizards,
03:42and averaged yet another triple-double.
03:44Well, he had such an incredibly high usage rate,
03:47and was basically a glorified floor raiser,
03:49not a player you can just insert into a team and immediately expect them to be a contender.
03:54The chemistry and fit was super important,
03:56and Westbrook just wasn't it.
03:59The days of him being a tier 1 superstar were over,
04:02and on a team that basically dumped a decent amount of depth to get him,
04:06most importantly, the departure of Contavious Caldwell Pope severely hurt them.
04:10Their best 3-point shooter and a phenomenal perimeter defender.
04:13They also lost Alex Caruso in the same summer.
04:16That's two of their best defenders,
04:18who constantly hounded and harassed their opponents on the perimeter.
04:22So it's no surprise their defense dropped off drastically after losing these two.
04:27The 2021-22 season spawned plenty of other problems outside of Westbrook,
04:32but he became the most visibly frustrating player the fans have witnessed in a long time.
04:37In a single season with a single team, Westbrook's reputation went down the gutter.
04:42What I'm disappointed with Westbrook is,
04:45I thought he was gonna come with all this energy.
04:47We haven't seen a lot of that.
04:50I mean, you know it's bad when you even see your kids get called Westbrook by their friends.
04:55And my family has reached a point to where it's really weighing on them.
04:59The root of their struggles stemmed from Frank Vogel's inability to integrate him into the offense.
05:05In the previous year, Davis missed half the season,
05:08but the Lakers were still the number one ranked defense in the league.
05:11Yet immediately following the Westbrook trade, they dropped to 21st in the league.
05:16Over the summer, they also added Malik Monk to the backcourts and a 37-year-old Carmelo Anthony.
05:21He also played significant minutes.
05:24Essentially, they added a bunch of negative defenders into their rotation.
05:28When you combine that with an offense led by a past-his-prime Westbrook,
05:31it was an ugly season where they finished bottom 10 in both offense and defense.
05:37The funny thing is, Westbrook was actually the only player in their starting lineup
05:41who remained healthy for almost the entire season,
05:43appearing in 78 games, to the dismay of Lakers fans.
05:47I'm sure they'd rather him sit on the bench.
05:50The injury problems to both LeBron and Davis persisted.
05:54Especially Davis, where it seemed like every time he fell,
05:57the crowd was worried he'd be out for another game.
06:00There's a reason the nickname Anthony Day to Davis stuck around for so long
06:03ever since his days in New Orleans.
06:05Because he'd get injured in the most random ways,
06:08like his entire body was made of glass.
06:11If we're being honest, even if Bron and AD weren't injured,
06:14this was a lost season.
06:16There were too many problems that spawned from the Westbrook trade
06:19and other poor additions to the team that provided little value.
06:23The 2022 offseason marked a turning point for the franchise.
06:26After a season where the Lakers shockingly missed the playoffs
06:29in the worst season during the whole LeBron era,
06:32the team reached a crossroads and had a major decision to make.
06:35It started with a meeting between LeBron James,
06:38his agent Rich Paul, Jeannie Buss, Rob Palenka,
06:41and the team's new head coach, Darvin Hamm.
06:44Reportedly, during this meeting, the main discussion centered around
06:47expressing concerns and hearing out strategies and opinions
06:50to assure there wouldn't be a repeat of last season's epic failure,
06:54with LeBron himself trying to drill home the importance
06:57of consistent competitiveness and cohesion,
06:59noting that last season's team didn't give themselves a chance on many nights.
07:04He also cited potentially using the Lakers'
07:062027 and 2029 first-round picks as leverage
07:10to make a trade to help the team win immediately.
07:13But this was something that Rob Palenka was initially against,
07:16because he preferred to remain patient.
07:18Eventually, the meeting ended very nicely,
07:21with both sides agreeing on the direction they wanted to go.
07:23And a few weeks later, on August 17, 2022,
07:27LeBron signed a two-year $97 million extension
07:30to remain in Los Angeles.
07:32He was hopeful for the future of the team
07:35and their chances to compete for another championship.
07:38However, in that meeting,
07:39the discussions also reached a major talking point,
07:42Russell Westbrook.
07:43The Lakers' main purpose entering the new season
07:46was to rectify the Westbrook trade.
07:48And by rectify, I mean get rid of him,
07:51at all costs.
07:52And find the best team who can give the Lakers
07:55some role players in return to fit their roster better.
07:58Years later, LeBron and Rob Palenka both admitted
08:01they misjudged the Westbrook deal,
08:03and they should have never done it.
08:04At the 2023 trade deadline,
08:07the Lakers initiated a major three-team deal
08:09that sent Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz,
08:12and in return, received three role players
08:14to fill in the flaws of their roster.
08:16Jared Vanderbilt was a long, athletic wing player,
08:19who moved his feet very well
08:21and provided a massive defensive boost at the wings.
08:24D'Angelo Russell,
08:25while he's not the highest IQ player,
08:27he was also a substantially better three-point shooter
08:30than Westbrook,
08:31which allowed him to be far more effective
08:33off the ball to space the floor.
08:35And then there's Malik Beasley,
08:37a three-point specialist,
08:38but he didn't get much playing time in Los Angeles.
08:41Beyond all of this,
08:42it wasn't just a Westbrook trade
08:44that revamped their team.
08:46Also, at the trade deadline,
08:47they acquired Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards,
08:50and they didn't give up much to get him.
08:52Most importantly,
08:53the departure of Westbrook coincided
08:55with the emergence of a new young player,
08:57Austin Reeves.
08:58After the trade,
08:59Reeves saw his touches and playing time skyrocket.
09:02In the post-All-Star break,
09:03he averaged over 17 points a game
09:05on absurd shooting splits
09:07and played at a level
09:08nobody thought this undrafted second-year kid
09:10was capable of doing.
09:15Getting rid of Westbrook
09:16presented more opportunities to other players,
09:18and it made the team
09:19much more well-rounded than before.
09:21For example, post-All-Star break,
09:23the Lakers had a net rating of plus 5.0,
09:26a good for fifth in the entire league
09:28during that span,
09:29and a hopeful sign of better things to come.
09:32While they did enter the playoffs
09:33as a mere seventh seed of the West,
09:35they were the most deceptive seventh seed in history,
09:38because this team was much, much better
09:40compared to the start of the season.
09:42And the results speak for themselves.
09:48The 2023 Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals,
09:51the furthest they've gone
09:52since their championship run back in 2020.
09:55It culminated with an unfortunate sweep
09:58by the Denver Nuggets,
09:59but for the first time in years,
10:00the outlook of this team
10:01was more hopeful than ever.
10:03LeBron himself stated how proud he was,
10:05how exceptional this entire team was
10:07in bouncing back.
10:08Even with a successful year,
10:10the question still remained
10:12how the Lakers can continue to build upon this.
10:14They were still knee-deep into the luxury tax,
10:17so there was little room to negotiate.
10:19But then,
10:20they were met with the biggest obstacle
10:22at the worst time possible.
10:26It was around 2023
10:28when the NBA announced
10:30a new second apron luxury tax threshold,
10:32where if a team spent above that line,
10:35the consequences would be so substantial
10:37that even a team like the Lakers were scared of.
10:40This announcement came at a bad time,
10:42and so many teams were desperately shedding off salary
10:45to get below that line.
10:47It probably impacted the Celtics and Nuggets the most,
10:50who won the championship in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
10:54And the new second apron made it difficult
10:56for them to keep their roster intact
10:58or keep improving it.
11:00The same implications happened to the Lakers,
11:03because in the year they were supposed
11:04to make another big move,
11:05it all fell apart.
11:07Anyway, in the summer of 2023,
11:09seeing the team make tremendous progress
11:11after the Westbrook trade,
11:12they could only make smaller moves.
11:14So they opted to keep the players
11:16who helped them get that far,
11:18including the re-signing of Austin Reeves,
11:20Rui Hachimura, and D'Angelo Russell,
11:22all of them to fairly reasonable deals,
11:25with additional team-friendly deals in free agency
11:27to acquire Jackson Hayes and Torian Prince,
11:30and a very cheap contract for Christian Wood,
11:32a guy who averaged 20-10 a few years prior.
11:35It was a very low-risk, high-reward move.
11:38Unfortunately, there was also the Gabe Vincent deal.
11:42That was the only deal that was a huge overpay,
11:45three years, 33 million.
11:47He had a great playoff run in Miami,
11:49and this entire contract was based on that alone.
11:52So, unsurprisingly, he wasn't worth that.
11:55Also, he was injured the whole season anyway,
11:57so he provided nothing of value at all.
12:00With all these new players and their new core solidified,
12:03the Lakers accumulated a total payroll
12:05of nearly 182 million.
12:07For reference, the second apron tax line
12:10was set at 182.8 million,
12:12so they strategically reached as high as possible
12:15to meet it without crossing over the line.
12:17In the minds of Rob Palenka and the Lakers' ownership,
12:20they didn't view this team as a championship contender.
12:23At least, they didn't have enough faith
12:24in going beyond the second apron like other teams.
12:27That's why they avoided actively spending too much,
12:30and did not want to fully commit to investing in this roster.
12:34However, the 2023-24 season was more hopeful than ever.
12:43That season, LeBron played 71 games.
12:46Anthony Davis played 76 games.
12:48Both were the highest number of games
12:50they played in their time on the Lakers.
12:52Of course, they still had injuries to some other role players,
12:55but the fact that this duo remained healthy the whole season,
12:58there's no more excuse to point to for the Lakers' failures.
13:00They even won the in-season tournament,
13:03the first-ever NBA Cup.
13:05Not like it means anything, but it made the vibes better.
13:08Despite all their efforts on getting new role players
13:10to build around LeBron,
13:12almost all of them underperformed.
13:14Specifically, Christian Wood was horrible.
13:16Probably the worst defensive big man in the league
13:19who played such low-IQ basketball
13:20and couldn't stay on the court.
13:22Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Cam Reddish
13:25all had such little impact due to injuries.
13:27So, right when LeBron and AD got healthy,
13:30their role players became crippled.
13:32Even D'Angelo Russell,
13:34who on paper had a productive year
13:36if you just look at the box scores.
13:37But much like Christian Wood,
13:39dude had such a bad grasp for the game.
13:41With very little awareness of what was going on.
13:44There's a reason.
13:45If you watched their games that year,
13:46LeBron would frequently be exasperated
13:48by his dumb mistakes.
13:50His actual play was significantly worse
13:52than his stats indicated.
13:54The team basically fell apart
13:55by the end of the year.
13:57And once again,
13:58they reached the playoffs as a lower seed.
14:00And once again,
14:00they got knocked out by the Nuggets,
14:02this time in five games.
14:04This was a series that seemed more competitive
14:06than the actual result.
14:08The Lakers had a double-digit lead
14:10in all five games.
14:11But their late-game execution was far inferior.
14:14As there was a next-level gear
14:15the Nuggets could reach
14:16that the Lakers simply could not match.
14:20Bron and AD popped off every game.
14:22But there was no support to help them
14:24by the fourth quarter
14:24when they ran out of gas.
14:26Still,
14:27a first-round loss
14:28is not what they expected
14:29after a run to the conference finals
14:30the year prior.
14:31And this led to a summer of questions.
14:34Is it still possible
14:35to win another title with this duo?
14:37Because they were still playing
14:38as great as ever.
14:40But under these new salary cap regulations,
14:42it really diminished the team's abilities
14:44to make changes.
14:46That question was answered
14:47pretty quickly though.
14:48It turns out Rob Palenka believed
14:50no,
14:51it was not possible anymore
14:52to win like this.
15:03In a trade that will go down in history
15:06as the biggest robbery in sports,
15:08the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic,
15:10the Mavs' franchise player
15:11and a perennial first-team
15:12All-NBA superstar.
15:14In exchange for Anthony Davis,
15:16Palenka played Nico Harrison
15:18like a fiddle
15:18and the concerns of the Lakers' future
15:20became solved in a single trade.
15:22At least temporarily,
15:23it did.
15:25The arrival of Luka Doncic
15:26marked the beginning
15:27of a new era in Los Angeles,
15:29but it also signaled
15:30the dwindling end
15:31of LeBron's time there as well.
15:33As iconic as this duo
15:35appeared to be,
15:36getting Luka doesn't immediately
15:37remove all the flaws
15:38the Lakers had before.
15:40They still had a lot of work to do
15:41to fill in the holes
15:42in their roster
15:43and find competent supporting players
15:45to truly become a contender.
15:46So when you build around
15:48two high-usage,
15:49heliocentric superstars
15:50like LeBron and Luka,
15:52it's mandatory
15:53to have a strong supporting cast,
15:54a center with great hands
15:56to run pick-and-rolls with,
15:57a plethora of long,
15:58athletic defenders
15:59to cover their deficiencies.
16:00Yet the Lakers lacked all of this.
16:03While the Luka trade
16:04was indeed the greatest heist
16:06of the modern era,
16:07the team itself
16:08did not have enough time
16:09to fix the rest of their issues.
16:11So by the time
16:12the 2025 playoffs began,
16:14they got folded
16:15by the Timberwolves,
16:16despite technically
16:17being the favorites
16:18to advance.
16:19Like, it wasn't even close
16:21and the Wolves relentlessly
16:22attacked every weakness
16:23they had.
16:24In particular,
16:25they had no rim protection
16:26and no defense at all.
16:29After an underwhelming defeat
16:30at the hands of the Wolves,
16:32the Lakers were at
16:33yet another crossroads.
16:35What seemed like
16:35a phenomenal trade
16:36revealed a broader issue
16:38with how the team
16:38was currently constructed.
16:40They had two superstars
16:41whose skills
16:42almost identically
16:43overlapped each other.
16:44And combined with
16:45the Lakers' usual injuries,
16:47LeBron found himself
16:47as the third option
16:48on the team now,
16:50behind Luka and Reeves,
16:51who both had a firm grasp
16:53of the offense
16:53and became the Lakers'
16:55new duo.
16:56LeBron, at 41 years of age,
16:58wasn't bad at all
16:59for a third option.
17:00But he also wasn't worth
17:02over $53 million anymore.
17:04The Lakers had reached
17:06a point where LeBron
17:07was no longer
17:08the focal point
17:08of their rebuild
17:09because they knew
17:10they'd pivot to Luka
17:11the moment they got him.
17:18It doesn't matter
17:19what players they got
17:20in free agency,
17:21there's no chance
17:21in hell they can
17:22build a contender.
17:23There's only so much
17:25you can do
17:25when the best players
17:26you can pay in free agency
17:27are DeAndre Ayton
17:28and Marcus Smart.
17:30There was a dark cloud
17:31looming above
17:32this entire season
17:33because in the back room
17:34of the Lakers'
17:34front office,
17:35they knew the LeBron era
17:37in Los Angeles
17:37was coming to an end
17:39as they found
17:40his successor.
17:40But there was still time
17:43for one last run.
17:45With Luka's injury
17:46towards the end of the year
17:48and Reeves still making
17:49a very slow recovery
17:50from his own injury,
17:51all eyes were on
17:52the chosen one
17:53once again.
18:02LeBron led the Lakers
18:04to a victory
18:05over the Houston Rockets
18:06before getting swept
18:07by OKC.
18:08When this happened,
18:09I don't think anyone
18:10considered this might
18:11be the final game
18:12we'd see LeBron
18:13in a Lakers uniform.
18:14He did give the indication
18:16he wanted to retire
18:17in Los Angeles,
18:18but if you look at
18:18the direction
18:19the Lakers wanted to go,
18:20he wasn't in the picture
18:21anymore.
18:22They even had a chance
18:23to give him an extension
18:24before the 2026 season
18:26even started,
18:27but there were
18:28no discussions of one.
18:29Nobody in the organization
18:30even approached LeBron
18:31to entertain the idea
18:32he'd remain a Laker.
18:34Several weeks
18:35before the draft,
18:36Bron's agent Rich Paul
18:37even said there was
18:38an 80% chance
18:39LeBron would remain
18:40a Laker,
18:40but that quickly dwindled
18:42as the Lakers
18:43gave no inkling
18:43of wanting to discuss
18:44a new deal.
18:46In fact,
18:46they didn't even meet
18:47with LeBron at all.
18:49They just waited
18:50until his contract
18:51expired and let him
18:52leave without any
18:53further negotiations.
18:54With his contract
18:56completed and off
18:56the books,
18:57they proceeded to use
18:58the bulk of their
18:59new cap space
19:00to sign Walker Kessler.
19:02For a long time,
19:04JJ Redick desired
19:05a legit big man,
19:06a large interior presence
19:07with great hands
19:08to catch passes
19:09from Luka and Reeves.
19:11With Luka entering
19:12the peak of his career
19:13playing the best basketball
19:14of his whole life,
19:15he became the priority
19:16and the team needed
19:18to capitalize on this
19:19by retooling the roster.
19:21Keep in mind,
19:22the Lakers never did
19:23have a fully healthy season
19:24with LeBron,
19:25Luka,
19:25and Reeves
19:26all playing together.
19:27They only appeared
19:28in 29 games together
19:29in the 2025-26 season,
19:31but at this point,
19:32injuries are a feature
19:34of the Lakers.
19:35You can't expect
19:36everyone to stay healthy,
19:37as LeBron's twilight years
19:38have been riddled with them
19:39as his body
19:40slowly breaks down.
19:42Nevertheless,
19:43time doesn't wait,
19:45and they need to take
19:46advantage of the best years
19:47of Luka's prime.
19:48And so,
19:49the LeBron James era
19:50of Los Angeles
19:51ended in the most
19:52nonchalant fashion,
19:54the decision to let him
19:55walk away
19:56in free agency.
19:58Anyway,
19:59that's all folks.
20:00Let me know your thoughts
20:01on the LeBron James era
20:02in Los Angeles.
20:03With eight seasons,
20:05they were able to win
20:05one championship.
20:06Was that better
20:07or worse than you expected
20:09when LeBron first arrived
20:10to LA all those years ago?
20:11Let me know your thoughts
20:12in the comment section.
20:13Thank you all so much
20:14for watching.
20:15I hope you all
20:15enjoyed the video,
20:16and of course,
20:17as always,
20:18I'll see you next time.
20:19Peace.
20:21Peace.
20:22Peace.
20:24Peace.
20:25Peace.
20:27Peace.
20:30Peace.
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