The Los Angeles Lakers started the new season taking a hit from the Nuggets in the season opener. The Lakers, tied with the Boston Celtics, is the team with the most NBA championship titles in the history of the league. Los Angeles has always been the “City of Stars” as great NBA players like Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and many more have played for LA.
LeBron during the Bubble season helped the LA Lakers to win an NBA championship along with superstar Anthony Davis, and other role players. However, for a long time the Lakers have not been able to perform well in their season opener games as has been the case in 2023-24 as well.
When did Lakers last win an NBA preseason game?
The Lakers lost four of their six preseason games for the 2023-24 NBA season. The last preseason game that they won was against the Sacramento Kings on 12th October. They also won against the Brooklyn Nets on 10th October.
Although the Lakers performed poorly in the preseason games, their hope of winning the championship has not been lost. Darvin Ham’s team has a solid roster with lots of stars as well as talented players like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Christian Wood and many more. Had it been a postseason game, LeBron and the Lakers would have been playing with their life on the line.
Preseason is the time for making mistakes and understanding one’s strength and weaknesses. Teams try new lineups and strategies as a trial and error. The games are less intense than regular season games and often give a chance to the new additions and rookies to shine. Besides this the teams also prefer to rest their star players to avoid them from getting injured before the season begins.
The Lakers lost most of the preseason games for these reasons. The new members in the roster will require some time to get adjusted to the team’s playing style. However, in their matchup against the Kings, the Lakers team shined even in the absence of LeBron, AD and Austin Reaves. Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince both scored 13 points while D’Angelo Russell had 21. Gabe scored 18 points while Christian Wood also had 13, matching the scores of Hachimura and Prince. It was a good and much needed victory.
LeBron James NBA season opener record with Lakers
The Lakers are now 0-6 in season openers since LeBron James joined the team in 2018. However that didn’t stop the Lakers from winning the championship in the 2020 season where LeBron was crowned the Finals MVP.
LeBron still led the Lakers in his 29 minutes Tuesday night performance against the Denver Nuggets. He dropped a team-high 21 points and shot 10-of-16 from the field while adding eight rebounds and five assists.
What are your thoughts on the Lakers 0-6 season opener record since LeBron joined? Feel free to share with us in the comments below.
