{"id":735741,"date":"2026-05-16T08:21:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/735741\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:21:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:21:18","slug":"los-angeles-lakers-2025-2026-season-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/735741\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Lakers 2025-2026 Season Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lakers<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NBA:Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images <\/p>\n

The 2025-2026 Lakers season has come to an end. While not the desired ending, this Lakers season has provided a lot to be hopeful about for the future.<\/p>\n

\"NBA:<\/a>Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Heading into the season, ESPN had projected the Lakers to finish the regular season at 46 wins<\/a>. They ended up winning 53 games despite their star trio of Luka, Austin and LeBron only sharing the floor 29 times. They finished three games better than last season\u2019s 50-32 record and Coach JJ Redick had become the first Laker coach since Phil Jackson to lead the team to back-to-back 50-win seasons<\/a>. An impressive feat for a second-year coach.<\/p>\n

The Lakers weren\u2019t considered title favorites heading into the season and the flaws of the roster sparked questions of how far off are they actually from competing for one. But building a championship team is a season-by-season process. They\u2019ve increased their win total every year since the infamous 2021-2022 season. And this year they\u2019ve looked like they\u2019re one step closer to contending for their 18th banner.<\/p>\n

The Highlights<\/p>\n

The Lakers started the season off strong despite LeBron James\u2019 absence due to his sciatica injury. They went 15-4 in their first 19 games<\/a> and went 8-2 in LeBron\u2019s first 10 games back. Austin Reaves was averaging nearly 30 points a game during that opening stretch, including a 51-point performance vs the Kings<\/a> on October 26th, 2025.<\/p>\n

The Lakers were one of the league\u2019s best clutch teams in the NBA all season with the highest winning percentage in clutch games at 73.3% (22-8 record)<\/a>. Four of those wins were game winners: Austin Reaves\u2019 buzzer beater<\/a> vs Minnesota, Rui Hachimura\u2019s buzzer beater<\/a> vs Toronto, Luka Doncic\u2019s game winner<\/a> vs Denver, and Luke Kennard\u2019s game winner<\/a> vs Orlando. Not to mention Reaves\u2019 clutch miss and rebound at the free throw line resulting in a shot that sent the game to OT against Denver.<\/p>\n

The Lakers had an unbelievable March run, going 15-2 during that month<\/a>. The team had just gotten healthy, the trio was playing well together, the role players were stepping up, and Luka was making his case for MVP as he was putting up absurd numbers including a 60-point outing vs Miami. This was also LAL\u2019s toughest stretch on their schedule. They had beaten Minnesota, Denver and Houston twice on the road within a week and it allowed them to position themselves comfortably in the standings the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

Then in the postseason they prepared to play without Luka and Reaves, going in as heavy underdogs to advance past Houston. They go up 3-0 and eventually take the series in 6 games, led by the collective effort of their starters James, Smart, Hachimura, Kennard and Ayton. And because they were the league\u2019s best clutch team, they pulled of a miracle Game 3 come back from down six with less than 30 seconds left.<\/p>\n

Overall Assessment<\/p>\n

The Lakers still have a way to go in terms of building a true contender and they\u2019ll have the opportunity to do so this summer. They\u2019ll have roughly $48 million in cap space to spend, the 25th pick in the draft and some tradeable assets.<\/p>\n

Despite all of the adversity this team faced, they never let up and hung their heads. JJ Redick and his staff had this group playing for each other, playing as hard as they possibly could no matter who was out on the floor. From Drew Timme of the South Bay Lakers to LeBron James and so on. That season-by-season process of building a championship team also includes establishing a winning culture and it\u2019s brewing.<\/p>\n

It was evident in the 2nd round versus the defending champion OKC Thunder. They were outmatched in every way possible, but they played like that didn\u2019t matter to them. Playing down 0-3 to the best team in the NBA would feel defeating and pointless to most. But they gave one final punch in Game 4, and it unfortunately wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

Now the Lakers look to the summer. They have a solid foundation and several free agents they would love to have return. There is a lot of pressure to deliver a title contender ready to compete for next season as the first offseason in the Mark Walters era gets underway.<\/p>\n

Discover more from Los Angeles Sports Nation<\/p>\n

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\"avatar\"Hello there! I’m Tyler. Basketball has been a passion of mine since I was a small kid and I’ve … More about Tyler Bazan<\/a> Tags: Austin Reaves<\/a> DeAndre Ayton<\/a> Denver Nuggets<\/a> houston rokcets<\/a> jj redick<\/a> Lakers<\/a> LeBron<\/a> LeBron James<\/a> Los Angeles<\/a> Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> luka doncic<\/a> luke kennard<\/a> Marcus Smart<\/a> minnesota timberolves<\/a> minnesota timberwolves<\/a> nba<\/a> nba 2025-2026 season<\/a> NBA Playoffs<\/a> nba postseason<\/a> nba regular season<\/a> okc thunder<\/a> Phil Jackson<\/a> rui hachimura<\/a> <\/p>\n

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