Projecting LeBron James, Lakers Stars' Ceilings and Floors for 2022-23 NBA Season
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams to watch during the 2022-23 NBA season.
Now, that's sort of because the Purple and Gold are always a club to keep an eye on, what with their storied history, the Hollywood spotlight and what have you.
That's not all, though. For all of their warts, the Lakers still have one of the league's premier star partnerships with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. If those two stay healthy, and the supporting cast delivers, this campaign could be special.
Then again, the bottom might drop out as it did last season, so who knows where this club is headed?
L.A.'s stars themselves have fairly wide gaps between their best- and worst-case scenarios, so let's break down both sides of the equation.
Anthony Davis
1 of 3
Ceiling: First-Team All-NBA
A healthy Davis is one of the best players in basketball. Maybe that sounds subjective or even hyperbolic, but it's neither of those things.
Davis, a four-time All-NBA first-teamer, owns the fourth-highest career player efficiency rating in NBA history (26.89, per Basketball-Reference). He has been—and still could be—one of the league's best defenders and a near-30 point scorer with a 50-plus field-goal percentage and a league-average three-point rate. If he gets his injury issues under control, he could rank among the top three frontcourt players in the game.
Floor: Misses half of the season
What happens when the bottom drops out for the Brow? Just ask Lakers fans, and they'll tell you all about the past two seasons.
He played just 76 games total in that stretch, and even when he hit the hardwood, he didn't quite seem like himself. He's still super-productive, but his scoring tailed off a bit, and his three-ball went into hibernation. These trends have lasted long enough to believe there's a chance they could continue.
LeBron James
2 of 3
Ceiling: MVP
This should be an absurd suggestion for a 37-year-old who's about to enter his 20th season, but James is just different. He took silver in the 2019-20 MVP voting and even scored a top-10 finish last season despite being limited to 56 games and seeing his supporting cast crumble around him.
James remains one of the top talents on the planet. His 30.3 points per game last season were the second-most of his career. If he simply posts a similar stat line (which also included 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists) and helps the Lakers get their groove back, he could join Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell as the only players ever to win at least five MVP awards.
Floor: Misses 30 games, can't rally his club
If James is healthy, he's not going to have a "bad" season. Other than his rookie year, he has never averaged fewer than 25 points, six assists or six rebounds. If he plays, he produces at an elite level.
Still, the one area that reflects his age more and more is his games played—or games missed, rather. He last cracked 70 appearances in 2017-18 and hasn't reached 60 in either of the past two campaigns. If he's stuck on the sideline for a third of the season, and L.A.'s ship sinks without him, he won't be able to find a miracle fix.
Russell Westbrook
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Ceiling: Adapts into a role-playing third star
Westbrook is unique in that his best-case scenario isn't his most productive one. If he finally leans into the dirty work—digging in defensively, setting screens and exploding out of them toward the rim—he could fit with this roster and actually enhance it.
But his numbers will take a tumble. He probably won't sniff an All-Star nod, either, although with the backing of L.A. fans and perhaps a narrative bump from the media, it's possible. The Lakers don't need his triple-double-machine version. They'd gladly sacrifice some numbers if it meant getting a more consistent and efficient Brodie.
Floor: Buyout discussions aren't outside the realm of possibility
As Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus relayed, the Lakers have been looking to move Westbrook since before last season's trade deadline and are more likely to make a move after acquiring Patrick Beverley. Westbrook is massively overpaid and a poor fit for this roster.
The problem is everyone else knows that, so they'll want to bleed assets out of the Lakers. If a trade comes together, it's hard to imagine Westbrook landing with a team that wants him and not the draft pick—or draft picks—attached to him. In other words, if things go south, or if L.A. simply finds a workable trade, there's a chance Westbrook is moved and winds up being bought out of his contract and in search of a new employer.
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