Former COTY predicts Lakers will have more nationally televised games than wins this upcoming season

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl said on social media that the Los Angeles Lakers will have more nationally televised games than victories in the upcoming 2024-25 regular season.

For reference, the Lakers will play 39 games on national television next season, which equates to nearly half of the team’s 82-game slate. The Golden State Warriors are set to have the second-most games on national television of any team with 36, and the Boston Celtics — who won the 2024 NBA title — will have 34.

Karl isn’t one to shy away from criticizing the Lakers and their fans. He clowned fans of the storied franchise who celebrated after the Nuggets got eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs a couple of months ago.

Also, in October of last year, Karl downplayed the Lakers’ most recent NBA title, which came in the year 2020 when the playoffs took place in the Orlando, Fla. bubble.

In order for Karl’s prediction to come to fruition, the Lakers will have to win their fewest games in a single season since the 2021-22 campaign, when Los Angeles ended up with a 33-49 record and missed out on the playoffs entirely.

But in each of the past two seasons, the Lakers have finished with a record above the .500 mark. First, Los Angeles won 43 games during the 2022-23 regular season and reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals. More recently, the Lakers earned 47 victories in the 2023-24 regular season.

However, when looking at the Lakers’ current situation, Los Angeles could be in jeopardy of living up to Karl’s prediction. After all, Los Angeles has yet to make a significant addition to its roster this offseason, and the team hired someone with zero experience coaching at the NBA level in J.J. Redick to be its newest head coach.

It should be interesting to see how the 2024-25 campaign unfolds for the Lakers and if the team will take a step forward or back compared to the 2023-24 season.