Getty
Lakers LeBron James reacts with Luka Doncic (77)
The NBA season started with the Los Angeles Lakers having NBA Championship hopes after a hot start, but the expectations have fallen in recent months. LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic still give the team a star-studded trio at the top of the roster. Unfortunately, they have failed to look even to the top three West contenders.
Former Lakers Champion Byron Scott gave the Lakers a 0% chance on his recent podcast episode:
“They ain’t winning no championship this year. Listen, we all bleed purple and gold, but again, you got to be 100. They ain’t winning no championship this year. They don’t have enough. They don’t have enough. I mean, they got obviously three great players, right? But you need 10.
OKC won the championship last year ’cause they were 10 deep. If you watch an OKC game right now and they win the game, if you watch them doing an interview with Shai, guess what? Almost the whole team is around him. That is us in the ’80s, where everybody wants everybody to do well.”
Scott said the Lakers have no chance when comparing them against the current Oklahoma City Thunder roster. The conversation turned to Scott saying that the other West teams have a better challenge to challenge the Thunder.
Scott Compared Showtime Lakers To Thunder
The quote from Scott featured him complimenting the Thunder roster as much as he criticized the Lakers. Oklahoma City remains the top title favorites on betting sites and receives the most respect in general as the defending champs any opposing team must knock off.
Scott vouched that he sees the team chemistry that his Showtime Lakers, led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, used to have when watching the Thunder players today. The teammates of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander always standing with him during the interviews got cited by Scott to explain the comparison.
Today’s Lakers roster lacks that cohesive unit of high-impact players all over the roster necessary in a competitive field. Oklahoma City drafting well has allowed them to develop strong role players around the All-Star trio to remain a dominant force.
Can Lakers At Least Provide A Threat?
Only a small percentage of NBA minds are viewing the Lakers as a strong title contender, but teams make shocking runs often in the league. The Indiana Pacers came one game short of an NBA Championship last season, despite being outside of the top eight favorites entering last postseason.
However, the Lakers must go through a tough battle of incredible teams in the Western Conference. Star power must carry the Lakers with their “big three” out-dueling other teams offensively. The skepticism comes from offensive-minded teams usually struggling in the postseason without an equal defense.
Scott echoed the same sentiment felt by most across the league that the Lakers will fall short of being a realistic contender. However, he went a little further by saying they possess a zero percent chance at all. Time will tell if the Lakers can shock the basketball world and prove a beloved franchise player wrong.
Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford
More Heavy on Lakers
Loading more stories