The Los Angeles Lakers kept much of their roster intact between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 season, but they still made plenty of headlines by hiring JJ Redick as head coach and drafting LeBron James' son, Bronny James.
The Lakers narrowly avoided the Play-In Tournament last season as they finished seventh in the Western Conference with a 47-35 record.
They crashed out in the first round of the playoffs, falling to the 2022/23 NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in five games. Making matters worse was the fact LA's historical rival, the Boston Celtics, won their 18th NBA Championship and broke the tie with the Lakers, who have 17 titles.
The Lakers did win the inaugural NBA Cup - then called the In-Season Tournament - last year, though.
Under head coach Darvin Ham during the 2023/24 season, the Lakers ranked sixth in points per game (118.0), eighth in three-point percentage (37.7), fourth in pace (100.9 possessions per team per game), second in overall field goal percentage (49.9), and last in offensive rebounds per game (8.2).
It is hard to predict how the Lakers' style will change under Redick based on a handful of preseason games, but LA went 2-4 and ranked 28th in net rating (-12.7 points per 100 possessions), 15th in offensive rebound percentage (27.9), 18th in pace (103.0 possessions per team per game), and 26th in points per game (104.5).
They also ranked in the middle of the pack in percentage of points from two-point shots, percentage of points from threes, and percentage of points from midrange, which all indicates that either Redick wants his team to be good at scoring from all levels, or - more likely - he's still working out its strengths and weaknesses.
Still, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the team and D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura leading the supporting cast, it would be a surprise if this team didn't at least make the playoffs.
To Win NBA Championship +3000
To Win Western Conference +1800
To Win NBA Cup +2200
To Make the Playoffs -105
To Miss the Playoffs -115
Over 43.5 Regular Season Wins -115
Under 43.5 Regular Season Wins -105
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Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.