Lakers’ father-son duo set the stage for a new era
The Los Angeles Lakers, led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season by the Denver Nuggets. After a fourth straight season of disappointment, the Lakers were looking to make some serious changes.
The Lakers hired head coach JJ Redick, a former 15-season NBA player whose only previous coaching experience was at the 4th grade Brooklyn Basketball Academy, and drafted James' son, Lebron “Bronny” James Jr., with the 55th pick in the draft. These moves have raised eyebrows, with some NBA players criticizing the team. Golden State Warrior guard Klay Thompson had no urgency to join the Lakers when asked during free agency.
“I’m cool on that circus over there,” Thompson said.
Jack Tan (’25), a Samo student and Lakers fan, has similar concerns.
“It’s not a serious team anymore," Tan said. "It’s kind of sad, it’s definitely more focused on the media with the LeBron and Bronny connection. They will talk about how, 'Bronny scored zero points' and find a way to pump that up but whoever does really really good on the other team, the media doesn’t care. Bronny will be a success for money and business, not a success for the team.”
Art by Raha Ghoroghchian
Despite this concern, the media hype surrounding James Jr could potentially lead to a rise in viewership and ticket sales. The prospect of James and James Jr. becoming the first ever father-son duo to play in the NBA, let alone on the same team, has been one of the largest talking points of the offseason. On the court, the Lakers have a history of helping young players (such as James Jr.) exceed their expectations. Austin Reaves, an undrafted shooting guard, was picked up by the Lakers off of waivers and is now a borderline All-Star coming off the best season of his career. The Lakers 17th pick in this year's draft, Dalton Knecht, has already convinced many that he was the steal of the draft after his 35 point pre-season performance against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 17. Fans are starting to believe that Los Angeles is a great place for young talents to develop, including Samo student Stevie Lenkin ('26).
“I think the young core is important because LeBron only has two, maybe three more years in him, and AD [Anthony Davis] is still a great player but he can’t be this good for that much longer,” Lenkin said. “I think Knecht was a steal - he knocked down his first shot the other day which is nice, and he had a good preseason game. I think he’s definitely a good player and can help us win a championship, hopefully.”
James Jr. has already provided Laker fans with promising signs of his own, with a 17 point performance to close out the preseason against the Golden State Warriors. Even in previous games when his shots haven’t been falling, James Jr. has shown maturity on the defensive end, averaging 0.5 steals and 0.83 blocks per game (while averaging only 15.5 minutes) during preseason.
Whether James Jr. and the rest of this exciting young core has enough to propel the Lakers to a deep playoff run is yet to be seen, and the odds are currently against them. ESPN projects the Lakers to win just 40 games this season, dropping significantly from their 47-35 record last year. However, the preseason has offered fans a newfound sense of optimism, including Holden Savage (’25).
“When you have LeBron, one of the best players ever, he just attracts so much attention that anything we do is going to get scrutinized, but I think there’s a chance we could finish top six in the west,” Savage said. “I think Hachimura and Reaves will have to step up but they’ve shown that they can. Any time you have AD [Anthony Davis] and LeBron you aren’t out of the conversation.”