Last Updated on June 1, 2026 11:20 am by Mike Passador | Published: June 1, 2026

The Lakers were gearing up for their first full season of LeBron and Luka together, hoping that the two megastars could lead this team forward despite new personnel and a new coach supporting them. The fact that those two headline the roster helped LA acquire some new players on the cheap but bargain buys would not be enough to paper over all the cracks. It was always going to come down to how Doncic and James coalesced and unfortunately we didn’t get to see any of that in the postseason.

How’d It Go?

The Lakers adding Luka Doncic for a song last season set them up for success, though as always questions remained about how the front office would put the finishing touches on an enviable roster core.

It turns out that having Doncic and LeBron James on the same roster makes for a pretty good sales pitch when it comes to signing other players. The Lakers got Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart on the cheap and then were able to sign the bought-out Deandre Ayton to fill the void at center. It was a mutually beneficial opportunity, what with Ayton needing some positive PR and the Lakers catching a talented player at a low point while setting him up perfectly with minimal competition for minutes and two great table-setters. We’ll check back later to see if that worked!

The first speed bump came in the form of James needing to miss time at the start of the season with sciatica in his back. It only accelerated the process of shifting the Lakers’ into Doncic’s team, though it did mean that they would have to get by for at least a month without James at full strength. It was all well and good as Doncic powered the team to a 15-4 start. While the Lakers rarely hit the peaks of the league’s other supposed title contenders and lost in ugly fashion when they lost at all — their first 12 losses were all by double digits and 21 of their 29 losses were by double digits — they relied on winning a number of close games and were in the heart of the playoff chase.

James returned and the real challenge of LA’s season was afoot, as they were trying to integrate him back into the flow of things without overtaxing him for the long haul. There was some obvious give and take going on and at times the Lakers looked miserable. You could sense other players’ frustrations when Doncic was calling his own numbers for full games at a time, and it was not necessarily easy for James to move to the No. 2 spot in the pecking order despite him generally handling the situation with grace. The collective talent level was through the roof but it took time for everyone to learn how to play together.

The Lakers played .500 ball for December, January and February. Their reliance on close wins coupled with their propensity for ugly losses had them looking like a paper tiger as the predictable roster issues bubbled to the surface. There wasn’t much shooting or depth to begin with, and their group of forwards was more of an imperfect committee than a well-defined platoon. With James adjusting to a new role and Austin Reaves missing a month with calf problems after a scorching start, the Lakers were floundering. The Lakers traded for Luke Kennard at the deadline to address some of the issues but they would only go as far as the stars could carry them.

And carry them they did. After the team looked like cannon fodder come playoff time, Doncic put together a huge month of March to give LA some real steam heading into the playoffs. Averaging 37.5 points per game will do that. They reeled off a 15-2 record in March and were putting up some goofy numbers that suggested they could hang with the best of the best. Unfortunately, both Doncic and Reaves got hurt in the final weeks of the season, sending the Lakers limping into the playoffs.

James put up a vintage run in the first round, leading LA to a surprising win over the title-hopeful Rockets. Without Doncic and Reaves, James captained a bit of a ragtag group to an impressive win, with Smart, Kennard and Hachimura all playing great ball. They ran into an OKC buzzsaw in the second round but gave the defending champs a decent fight and defended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as any team outside San Antonio. Without Doncic healthy for that matchup they simply had no chance, but there were plenty of positives to take away from the season.

Coaching

Perhaps the biggest positive is that JJ Redick looked the part as the Lakers’ head coach in his second season behind the bench. His first year was a wild one between the hiring process and associated news cycle and then the entire roster getting upended at the trade deadline. This year was much more conventional and you could see what Redick is trying to build. He’s got a knack for drawing up good ATO plays and is in touch enough with the modern game that the Lakers shouldn’t be getting left in the dust systems-wise. Guys like Bronny James and Jaxson Hayes made notable improvements year-over-year, and Redick generally seems able to get the team to play with passion.

The Ayton experiment didn’t quite work, though when the big man looked bought-in he was a positive contributor. We can’t lay the blame at Redick’s feet for that given how Ayton has failed to deliver under multiple coaches. The other common complaint was that Redick would lean too heavily on the starters in the regular season, but it’s not like he could trust the bench group as assembled. The fact that Kennard jumped into a critical role right after being acquired speaks to how thin things were.

Redick also had to adjust things significantly a few different times between James’ delayed start to the season, Reaves’ month-long absence and then Doncic’s season-ending hamstring injury. He made the most of a tough hand and got the Lakers playing their best down the stretch and into the postseason. After a difficult playoff showing in his first season as coach, Redick looked a lot more comfortable and eager to tweak the game plan this time around. LA’s effort against the Thunder was commendable and their defense of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was superb. Redick wasn’t afraid to pull the chute on players who weren’t playing up to standard and the Lakers went down with a real fight despite getting swept.

We’d still like to see Redick with an optimized roster but so far it’s safe to say he’s much more part of the solution than the problem. That’s back-to-back 50-win seasons despite some real hurdles in each and a solid show of game-planning in the playoffs. It was a risky hire but if this pans out, the Lakers might have a real long-term coach.

The Players

Luka Dončić

PG, Los Angeles Lakers

ADP: 5.2 / 4.6 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 7/10 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 4/6 (8/9-cat)

Doncic is finally meeting his ADPs thanks to gradual improvements in the percentage categories, and he was nightly appointment viewing in his first full season under the Hollywood lights. His ridiculous stat line features no new career-highs but Doncic did manage to lead the league in scoring and 3-pointers per game. He announced his arrival with authority, scoring 43 and 49 points in the first two games of the season, and was plugged in at the top of the franchise even with LeBron James still on the roster. The Lakers were very much Doncic’s team and while there were some occasional struggles with Doncic taking over too much and icing out his teammates, it’s hard to argue with his results.

Doncic was brilliant from wire to wire but there were some major peaks as well. In January he averaged 34.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.9 triples per game on .506 shooting from the field. That’s a week to remember for 99.9% of players, let alone a whole month. And somehow, Doncic was even better in March: 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 5.0 triples per game on .492 shooting. Averaging 37.5 points per game for a whole month right at the start of the fantasy playoffs was truly game-changing, and coupled with injuries to other elite players around that time, managers who were lucky enough to roster Doncic might have been carried to the fantasy title by that impressive binge. Sadly, Doncic suffered a serious hamstring strain in early April when the Lakers were fighting for playoff seeding. It ended up keeping him out for the entire postseason, robbing the Lakers of a chance to make some real noise. Fantasy GMs will take the end results and run, as his first full season with the Lakers went about as well as possible considering the potential awkwardness around taking over team leadership from LeBron James.

LeBron James

SF, Los Angeles Lakers

ADP: 34.6 / 20.9 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 56/72 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 38/50 (8/9-cat)

It was a little on the nose for James to miss the start of the season with a bout of sciatica in his back, and perhaps the strongest reminder yet that time comes for us all. Missing the first 14 games was a tough break but James kept it on the rails from there, with only one multi-game absence through the rest of the season. James didn’t ruffle too many feathers about the Lakers clearly setting themselves up to hand the keys to Luka Doncic and might have been thankful for the opportunity to ease into the regular season without needing to carry the squad, as he has in past campaigns. That was good for James and the Lakers, but not so much for fantasy GMs.

James saw declines in points, rebounds, assists and 3-pointers and had his worst 3-point shooting season in a decade. Beyond the box score, the Lakers had to work very hard to bring this group together. The body language wasn’t always great when Doncic was dominating the play and there were moments when James and his teammates were visibly peeved at the lack of involvement. When tasked with running the show, James made a point of getting everyone involved, but that didn’t happen often enough to keep him firmly in the early rounds for fantasy purposes. James was outstanding in the playoffs, leading the Lakers to a first-round win without Doncic and Austin Reaves before they fell to the Thunder in the second round. Perhaps James taking a back seat in the regular season allowed him to dig deep in the postseason, though that surely wasn’t LA’s plan. A big summer awaits as James can basically call his shot, whether that’s playing at all or suiting up for a specific team. If James wants to test free agency and is willing to take a massive paycut, he can shift the balance of power in the league.

Austin Reaves

SG, Los Angeles Lakers

ADP: 43.0 / 49.3 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 66/78 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 21/27 (8/9-cat)

On paper, it would’ve been safe to expect that Reaves’ numbers would suffer alongside Doncic and James for a full season. It wasn’t something we were overly worried about given the way Reaves played next to those two in the back half of the 2024-25 season, but he was clearly the third fiddle. Luckily for the Lakers, it’s a pretty perfect fit for Reaves and his skills. Injuries to James and Doncic always gave Reaves a shot at further upside too, so he was never that far away from ceiling-level games. There was a tremendous start to the season as Reaves put up 27.8 points (.503 FG%, .875 FT%), 2.8 triples, 5.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.2 blocks through his first 21 games, good for top-15 value. It was then that injuries took their toll.

Reaves would miss three games with a calf strain, return for a short spell and then miss 19 after aggravating the injury. He had to work around minutes restrictions for a bit and struggled for consistency from there. It was a little too all-or-nothing; Reaves had two single games of 20-plus points in all of February and only topped the 20-point mark eight times through March and April, both in four-game blocks. His scoring numbers took a big dip after the break and his FG% was never the same in the wake of those calf problems, resulting in a more pedestrian .465 mark from the All-Star break through the end of the season. A left oblique strain cut his regular season short and cost Reaves some playoff action as well. Even after a poor postseason, Reaves is a lock to decline his player option and hit the open market. In his possible swan song with the Lakers, Reaves was able to put together a strong fantasy season despite a clear downward trend line.

Deandre Ayton

C, Los Angeles Lakers

ADP: 66.2 / 97.0 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 81/65 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 130/104 (8/9-cat)

This is just a sneak peek of the Season Wrap. The entire roster is covered, as well as the Fantasy Star, Letdown, One to Watch and One Burning Question for this team. You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required

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Mike Passador

Mike graduated from Boston University’s Dual Degree Program with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business with Concentrations in Marketing and Operations Management. He is a faithful supporter of Toronto sports and the Detroit Lions and is always ready to be let down. Tweet to him @Mike_Pandador, but if you badmouth Jose Calderon you might get blocked.

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