Three bold predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers, James and Doncic in the 2025-26 season

For the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic's era has officially arrived. The Slovenian phenom will begin his first full season with the purple and gold, and with LeBron James currently injured, he will shoulder the majority of the team's responsibilities.

The Lakers made several operations during the offseason, introducing Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton to solve some problems. This is JJ Redick's second season as the team's head coach, and the initial results are quite encouraging.

With that in mind, we're going to dig into the tape, roster, and schedule to make three bold predictions about the 2025-26 Los Angeles Lakers and look at how they might fare this season.

Predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers in the new season

3. LeBron James will play no more than 50 games this season.

LeBron James is about to enter his 23rd season in the NBA. He'll be 41 by the end of the season, and it seems like Father Time is finally starting to catch up with him. He will miss the start of the season and was reportedly scheduled to return in mid-November while recovering from sciatica pain.

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James played in 70 games last season. While he was solid for most of his career, things have been different since arriving in Los Angeles. Since playing in 82 games in Cleveland, he has appeared in 55, 67, 45, 56, 55, 71 and 70 games this season. This year, he will compete in no more than 50 games.

2. Luka Doncic will lead the league in scoring

In the absence of LeBron James, Luka Doncic will shoulder most of the scoring burden. Therefore, if he stays healthy, he should be able to once again lead the league in scoring and claim the title of scoring champion once again.

In 2024, he won the scoring title by averaging a career-high 33.8 points per game, which even surpassed the 32.7 points Shaoyi Gilgeous-Alexander achieved last season. He can score at three different levels and get to the free throw line at will.

1. The Lakers will not become the top four teams in the Western Conference

Despite Doncic's best efforts, the Lakers still cannot become the top four teams in the Western Conference. They'll still have their ups and downs, and they'll still be a playoff team, but they won't be one of the major contenders in the league.

Although their performance should improve compared to last season, their interior defense is still weak and they still need to improve their shooting. As such, it's hard to imagine them doing better than the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, at least for now.

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