What is the Lakers’ ceiling?
Lakers coach JJ Redick and Luka Doncic believe the team could compete for a championship this season.
But is that realistic?
In the Western Conference alone, there’s a Goliath-sized impediment.
You know, the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama who carried the Spurs to the NBA Finals last postseason before his team blew double-digit leads in four of its five games against the eventual-champion Knicks. Wembanyama, who’s next in line to become the face of the league after LeBron James retires, spent all summer stewing — and plotting.
There’s also a well-established impediment.
You know, two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder to a championship in 2025 and is now chomping at the bit to carry his team back to the Finals after the Spurs stunned Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
The thing with this Lakers team is that their championship hurdles will be as much external as internal.
There are nine new players, including Walker Kessler, who’s going to be an integral part of the Big 3 alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves. There are questions around the team’s perimeter defense. It’s going to take time for everyone to build chemistry. To jell.
Not only do the Lakers have to worry about everyone else. But they have to worry about themselves. What’s their identity?
Redick raised eyebrows when he claimed ahead of media day that he was confident the Lakers would develop into a championship-level team this season.
When asked at Thursday’s practice why he believes that, he didn’t hesitate.
“I think that every season,” Redick said. “Unless somebody blatantly tells me that we’re not trying to win, I think that every year. That’s why I say I’m confident. I said the same thing last year for all of January and February that we were going to figure it out at some point, and we did. And then we had some injuries.”
Redick’s not wrong.
He kept insisting that Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James would work out their kinks. Those words seemed empty at times. But eventually they shape-shifted and came together, going on a 16-2 run last spring before Doncic suffered a strained hamstring and Reaves suffered a strained oblique on April 2.
During that time, Doncic looked like the NBA’s best player, regularly delivering stunning 40-point performances. Reaves looked like an All-Star. And James, who’s arguably the greatest player of all time, wholeheartedly committed to becoming the team’s third offensive option.
Redick has his work cut out for him again.
Can Walker become an All-Defense-caliber player? Can Redick unlock the potential of guys like Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero, Cameron Carr, Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton and Matisse Thybulle?
Redick has a way of getting through to players.
He got James to agree to be the third option for the first time in his then-23-season career. He helped Luke Kennard transform into an ephemeral star in the first round of the playoffs against the Rockets when Doncic and Reaves were sidelined. He got the best out of defensive juggernaut Marcus Smart.
It’s not far-fetched that he could work wonders with this team. It’s not out of the question that he could make them believe they’ve arrived. It’s not absurd that they could buy into the idea that their time is now.
The Lakers have arguably the best player in the league in Doncic. They have a lot of talent. They have a great coach.
But they also have holes, such as proven starting forwards and a reliable backup center. There’s a lot of questions around them. They have a lot to prove. Especially against teams that already have most things figured out.
The Thunder have been atop the league together. The Spurs tasted victory before letting it drop out of their mouths like a dog rejecting a healthy snack.
The Lakers are seemingly behind.
But they could get there.
Now, being a championship-level team doesn’t necessarily mean walking away with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. That’s not what Redick is saying. There are too many variables there.
“Being a championship-level team or being a — I don’t like the word ‘contender’ — but being a team that can make a run and can play in the playoffs and can play different ways in the playoffs, those things take time, and it doesn’t mean you’re going to be in the NBA Finals,” Redick said. “It’s just not the way this works, particularly with the way the playoffs work in terms of just matchups and what you can exploit and what you can’t exploit versus certain teams. But I think because of our talent, because of our fit, because of our depth, I really like our team.”
Redick thinks the Lakers could be elite.
They could make the league nervous. If things go right, they could become a threat. They could really be in the mix.
And right now, there’s no reason to believe him.
But there’s also no reason to doubt him.
