On August 20, earlier today, ESPN invited a team of experts to vote on which team is most likely to experience a decline in performance for the 2024-25 season. Unexpectedly, the Los Angeles Lakers topped the list.
43% of the experts believe that the Lakers are most likely to see a significant decline in performance in the 2024-25 season. They received 53 points in this poll (the higher the score, the more likely they are seen as a declining team), followed by the Los Angeles Clippers with 25 points, and the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls with 19 points each. It was somewhat surprising to see the Lakers ranked above the Clippers, especially considering the Clippers lost superstar Paul George in free agency.
ESPN wrote in its report: “This poll focuses on uncertainties in on-court performance, issues within the coaching staff and management. The new season’s Lakers have a rookie head coach, JJ Redick, a superstar nearing his 40s, LeBron James, and many unresolved issues from their first-round playoff exit last season.” After reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2022-23 season, the Lakers made it to the playoffs through the play-in tournament for the second consecutive year but regressed in the 2023-24 season, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers’ roster for the new season may look similar to last season’s. So far, James, Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes are all set to return from last season’s team. The Lakers hope that Dalton Knecht, their first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, will develop into an excellent shooter, helping to create space for James and Davis this season.
Finally, regardless of how unfavorable the predictions may be, James, Davis, and the team will strive to prove doubters wrong when the 2024-25 regular season begins.