LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers reached 50 wins Tuesday night, a familiar benchmark that carries a very different meaning this time around.
A 127-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers marked their fourth consecutive win and improved them to 17-5 since the All-Star break, a stretch that included a nine-game winning streak and has them firmly in control of the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed. The Lakers clinched a spot in the playoffs Tuesday after the Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns 115-111.
How does LeBron James feel about where the Lakers are now compared to this point last year?
“I don’t even remember this time last year, it was such a blur,” said James, who is renowned for his photographic memory. “It was like three different seasons in one. I mean, there was just so much change over last year. So it’s hard for me to think about last year, I don’t even know where I was at that point, or where we were. We did have some — there’s a lot of change over.”
There is more for the Lakers to feel better about this spring. A year ago, the Lakers went 18-12 after the All-Star break with an eight-game winning streak. Some thought the Lakers could use that momentum and win a championship. Alas, the Lakers won one playoff game despite holding home-court advantage as the third seed in the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves and didn’t even make it past April.
This time, the underlying performance feels more sustainable, and it starts with a team that is playing better basketball.
After ranking No. 17 in both offensive and defensive efficiency after the All-Star break last season, keeping up a season-long trend of relatively unimpressive big-picture basketball despite the midseason acquisition of Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis, this year’s Lakers have taken a step forward. Since the break, they ranked No. 6 in offensive efficiency and No. 11 in defensive efficiency entering Tuesday’s games — a notable improvement for a team that was 23rd in defensive efficiency just weeks ago.
That defensive jump is not just seeing stars like Anthony Edwards or Jamal Murray having some of their absolute worst games ever. Lakers opponents have also gone cold beyond the arc. Since the All-Star break, teams are making 11.1 3s per game while making them at a 32 percent rate. Both figures are the lowest in the league, and a far cry from where they were at the All-Star break, when the Lakers ranked No. 18 in 3s allowed per game (13.4) and No. 21 in opponent 3-point percentage (36.4).
Chalk it up to this being a make-or-miss league, but this much missing is starting to say something. Monday, the Wizards made only 7 of 35 (20 percent) from 3, the eighth time since the break a Lakers opponent has failed to reach double-digit 3s, and the sixth time a Lakers opponent failed to break 25 percent from 3.
After Monday’s game, coach JJ Redick offered a more detailed explanation for how the Lakers track their 3-point defense.
“There’s two ways to sort of measure expected field goal percentage, expected 3-point percentage,” Redick said. “One way is to take a look at every shot and use basically league averages and you arrive at a number. The other way to do it is to individualize it for each shot, for each player. … If teams are slightly underperforming whatever the expected is, then that’s probably just some level of (regression) to the mean.”
I’m not one to simply chalk up opponents missing 3s consistently against a team as “Jedi defense” alone
with that in mind
Lakers opponents are DFL in 3s made and 3-point % since All-Star break
So I asked JJ Redick what role the Lakers play in defending 3s pic.twitter.com/fYQy5RMGFB
— Law Murray 🕯️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) March 31, 2026
The other area of improvement has been their ability to take care of the basketball. Before the All-Star break, the Lakers ranked No. 20 in turnovers with 15.1 per game and No. 21 in turnover percentage, with Dončić, Austin Reaves and James all averaging more than 3.0 turnovers per game. Since the break, the Lakers rank No. 5 with only 12.7 turnovers per game and are fourth in turnover percentage.
That shift has allowed the Lakers to weaponize an even more lethal Dončić, who has made a blistering 40.5 percent of his 3s in that span, while players like James (53.7 percent field goals) and Reaves (6.2 free-throw attempts per game) have enough left over to punish teams. The Lakers rank No. 2 in both field goal percentage (50.4) and free-throw attempts (27.0 per game) since the break.
“I think it’s just passing the ball to the guys on our team instead of the other team,” Reaves said. “Just eliminating the dumb ones and making the right play.”
The impact shows up clearly when the Lakers’ primary creators share the floor. After uneven results earlier in the season, Dončić, James and Reaves have taken off in March.
Lakers +/- this season with Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves sharing the floor (by month)
October: n/a (no James)
November: -10 in 75 min.
December: -14 in 65 min.
January: n/a (no Reaves)
February: +27 in 115 min.
March: +103 in 270 min. (one game remaining) pic.twitter.com/gfCCW29YUO— Law Murray 🕯️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) March 29, 2026
Unlike last year, the roster has stayed mostly intact since training camp and helped to eliminate stretches of poor performances. The only standard contract player from Week 1 who is not on the team now is Gabe Vincent, whom the Lakers upgraded on by trading Vincent to Atlanta for Luke Kennard.
“All of us have been here besides Luke since the beginning of the season, so all of us have had time to grow and play with each other, be able to hoop with each other the past few months,” said Jaxson Hayes, who was starting at center after the Lakers’ effort to trade Dalton Knecht for Mark Williams was rescinded. So we’ve been able to build good chemistry.”
Asked Luke Kennard about what he feels he adds to this year’s Lakers playoff push
And that’s when LeBron James debuted a Luke Kennard theme song pic.twitter.com/am4D57NQWR
— Law Murray 🕯️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) March 31, 2026
The additions of Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia have been meaningful. Ayton’s presence has allowed Hayes to thrive in a backup role; the Lakers wound up canceling centers by the end of the Timberwolves series last year. Smart has served as one of the better connectors in the league, reflected in his team-best plus-minus (plus-238 entering Tuesday). With Smart starting, Rui Hachimura has been able to settle into an effective bench role. LaRavia, meanwhile, has appeared in every game.
That continuity has played a part in why this version of the Lakers feels more sustainable.
“I feel like our ceiling is higher with this team,” Redick said Monday. “I feel really good about our team. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win a championship. What I’m saying is, the sort of optimized version of our team, we’re like building towards that. And that’s important for this year, not what happened last year.”
These next few days will offer a clearer picture. The Lakers head to Oklahoma City for their first of two chances to prove they can beat the West’s top team this season. Then they get two days off before a visit to Dallas on Easter.
For now, the vibes inside the locker room are in a good place.
“The chemistry is high, everyone loves being around each other,” James said. “We love playing for one another, we love being on the floor with one another. It’s a good, tight-knit group.
“The postseason is its own season. Gotta carry that into then, too.”