ESPN panelists predict Lakers to be No. 1 team to ‘take a tumble’ this season

The Los Angeles Lakers were voted as the team most likely to take a tumble in the 2024-25 season, according to ESPN’s panel of experts, receiving 43 percent of the first-place votes.

“When it comes to the Team Turmoil vote, the focus is on uncertainty on the floor, coaching staff and front office,” ESPN’s staff wrote.

“This season’s ‘winner’ is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have a first-time coach in JJ Reddick, a superstar turning 40 in LeBron James and plenty of questions on the court after a first-round exit in last season’s playoffs.”

Based on the voting system used by ESPN, the Lakers received 53 points while the next closest teams to them were the Los Angeles Clippers (25 points), Atlanta Hawks (19 points) and Chicago Bulls (19 points).

It’s a little surprising to see the Lakers ahead of the Clippers, who lost superstar wing Paul George in free agency. George signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving the Clippers with a little less top-line talent behind Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

After making the Western Conference Finals in the 2022-23 season, the Lakers took a step back in the 2023-24 campaign, losing in the first round of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets.

For the second straight season, the Lakers earned the No. 7 seed by going through the play-in tournament, something they’d like to avoid altogether in the 2024-25 season.

Redick, who has never coached at the NBA level but did have a lengthy career in the league, will be tasked with getting the most out of a rotation that could look pretty similar to last season.

Los Angeles is hoping key players like Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt will be healthier than they were in the 2023-24 campaign, but as of now, James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes are all back from last season’s team.

The Lakers are hoping that first-round pick Dalton Knecht, one of the better shooters in the 2024 NBA Draft, can help them space the floor around James and Davis this season.

While these preseason projections certainly don’t guarantee that the Lakers will struggle in the 2024-25 season, it is interesting to see how experts that cover the league view them ahead of training camp.

James, Davis and company will look to prove the doubters wrong when the 2024-25 regular season kicks off this fall.