Interpreting the Lakers’ Five Key Factors for Championship Contention in the New Season: James’ Three-Point Shooting Could Become a Winning Weapon, Role Players Need to Step Up

In April of this year, when the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their second consecutive playoff defeat to the Denver Nuggets, LeBron James was asked if he had played his last game with the Lakers.

“I won’t answer that question,” James responded.

In July, James provided an answer by agreeing to a two-year, $104 million contract extension with the Lakers.

Meanwhile, due to some role players opting into their contract options, the Lakers will largely retain the same roster from last season. That team finished the regular season as the seventh seed in the West and made it to the playoffs through the play-in tournament.

This past summer, however, brought about new questions with James’ contract extension, the hiring of JJ Redick as head coach, and the drafting of Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

With less than three weeks until training camp begins, here are five key points that may determine whether the Lakers’ championship pursuit in the new season will be smooth or bumpy.

James’ Three-Point Shooting

In the NBA, head coaches usually hope their teams can play in a style they favor or one that reflects their own playing style, and Redick is no exception, having mentioned this previously.

A while ago, when discussing how he would coach James, Redick said, “We joked about this, he shot over 40 percent from three this year, I want him to shoot more threes.”

In fact, James’ three-point shooting percentage last season was 41%—the highest in his 21-year career (while Redick’s career average is 41.5%). This 41% marked a significant improvement from his previous season’s 32.1%, which James attributed to his foot injury healing, allowing him enough time to work on his shooting.

This 8.9% increase made James the fourth player in NBA history to see the largest single-season jump in three-point shooting percentage (with at least 300 attempts). While another significant leap in three-point shooting under Redick’s system might not be realistic, creating better shooting opportunities for James could indeed push his three-point shooting further.

Statistics show that James is particularly excellent in catch-and-shoot three-pointers (hitting 45.4%), ranking third in the league among players with at least 200 attempts. He especially excels from the left side of the three-point line, where he shoots 46%. This explains why Redick indicated that James will have more off-ball offensive roles in the new season.

Davis’ Defense

Last season, Davis ranked fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, seemingly losing confidence in winning the Olajuwon Trophy.

“I’m never going to win that award,” Davis told reporters when asked about the award. “They’re not giving it to me. Despite being the best defensive player in the league, I can guard positions 1 through 5, I’m the best big man defending pick-and-rolls in the league, I block shots, I rebound, but the league doesn’t like me.”

“I don’t know what else to do. I’ve given up. All I can do is help my team win and go for a championship. As for accolades and individual awards, I don’t care anymore.”

Davis averaged 1.5 blocks, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals during the Olympics, helping Team USA win gold despite ranking eighth on the team in minutes played (16.6 minutes).

During the season, Davis contributed outstanding defensive performances for the Lakers, earning him a spot on the All-Defensive First Team. He and Victor Wembanyama were the only players in the league to average at least 2 blocks and 1 steal per game.

Davis also ranked in the top ten in the league in the following defensive categories: – Restricting opponents’ field goal percentage in the paint – Restricting opponents’ field goal percentage in post-up situations – Restricting opponents’ field goal percentage in isolation situations

His defense lifted the team’s performance; when Davis was on the court, the Lakers limited opponents’ layup and dunk percentages to 60% (which would rank ninth in the league), compared to 65% (ranking 29th) when he was off the court.

Davis has explicitly stated his desire to play alongside another big man. However, with Wood expected to miss at least eight weeks due to a knee injury, the Lakers’ center position is thin, with only Jackson Hayes and two-way player Kolin Castleton healthy. Fortunately, the team has confirmed the signing of 24-year-old Koloko, who stands at 2.13 meters tall and is young and athletic, hoping this addition can alleviate some of Davis’ defensive pressure.

Rotation of Role Players

Last season, four role players missed a total of 190 games due to injuries: Wood (32 games), forward Cam Reddish (34 games), forward Jared Vanderbilt (53 games), and guard Gabe Vincent (71 games).

In the offseason, Wood and Reddish exercised their contract options, while Vincent, Vanderbilt, and sophomore guard Jalen Hood-Schifino have multi-year contracts.

All of this suggests that although the Lakers’ roster looks almost identical to last season, increased attendance could significantly improve the team’s performance.

Wood recently underwent surgery, and Vanderbilt’s foot injury is still not fully healed, but sources have confirmed to ESPN that Vincent, Reddish, and Hood-Schifino will be ready to compete for playing time when training camp begins—giving Redick more options.

Bronny’s Role

The player selected by the Lakers with the 55th pick in this year’s draft may have received more attention than any other player picked that late in history.

After all, no 55th pick has ever been the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

However, Bronny performed poorly in the Summer League (making just 7 of 31 shots over six games), though he has trained throughout the offseason, and the team remains hopeful.

The Lakers signed him to a four-year contract, but he is likely to spend much of this season in the G League. There, he will be coached by South Bay Lakers’ new head coach Zach Guthrie, a disciple of Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, expected to bring high-level offensive concepts to the team.

Trade Options

The Lakers were quiet at the 2024 trade deadline and did not make major upgrades in the offseason, but they have multiple assets that can be consolidated for potential trades: first-round picks in 2029 and 2031; marketable young players such as Knecht, Hood-Schifino, and Max Christie; and mid-tier contract players like D’Angelo Russell ($18.6 million expiring contract), Rui Hachimura ($17 million), Vincent ($11 million), and Vanderbilt ($10.7 million).