In the wake of their 96-87 victory over the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers have secured their best start to a season since 1985. At 22-3, LeBron James and company are now tied through 25 games with the Lakers team led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That group won 62 games during the regular-season before losing in the NBA championship.
What’s interesting about the comparison between this year’s Lakers and the group from 34 years ago is that both were led by superstar tandems at different points in their Hall-of-Fame careers. Similar to LeBron, Kareem was in his 16th season as a professional that year. Meanwhile, like Anthony Davis, Magic was still only 26 years old. But despite their differences, both tandems clicked on the court and both have now helped their teams win big early on.
No. 5 – Frank Vogel and LeBron James have been on same page
There hasn’t been a feeling out period between head coach and superstar on this year’s Lakers so far. Frank Vogel is preaching the importance of locking in on the defensive end and LeBron James is echoing that charge. From starting lineups to rotation decisions, James has appeared to be on board with every button his coach has pushed. That’s been an important factor for generating buy-in throughout the entire roster.
No. 4 – Lakers have hit on wild card signings
There weren’t a number of NBA teams lining up to sign players like Dwight Howard and Alex Caruso. But Howard has had multiple games with double-digit rebounds and multiple games with at least three blocks while averaging seven points and seven boards. Those are the specific efforts that Lakers fans were hoping for when they signed the veteran center to eat up minutes off the bench. Caruso, meanwhile–after spending most of his young career in the G League–has scored double-digit points four times and demonstrated a potential that should only improve with more minutes as the season goes on.
No. 3 – L.A. is building its identity on defense
The Lakers are not only talking about playing defense their actually doing it on a nightly basis. Los Angeles currently ranks fourth in the NBA overall at 103.1 in defensive rating and their collective effort on that end of the floor is leading to wins. They also lead the league in blocks at seven per game and rank third in steals at 8.8.
No. 2 – Anthony Davis has made a seamless transition
There has been no adjustment period for Anthony Davis with his move to California. He has fit naturally alongside LeBron James and been extremely dominant out on the court. He is in a position to win either defensive player of the year or MVP so far and there’s a chance he could secure both. At 27.2 points per night, A.D. ranks sixth in the NBA and at 2.6 blocks he ranks second. He’s also collecting 9.2 rebounds and helping the Lakers stack victories early on in his tenure.
No. 1 – LeBron James is not washed
The King won’t be setting down his crown anytime soon. Sure, it’s year No. 17 for LeBron James but he looks as finely tuned as ever from an athletic standpoint. He’s adjusted his game to help elevate Anthony Davis by leading the league in assists with 10.8 dimes and is also scoring 25.8 points along with grabbing seven rebounds. Despite what you may have thought during the offseason, LeBron is very much not washed. He has his Lakers looking like not only a championship contender but arguably the favorite through 25 games.
