Power Ranking Lakers' Roster Based on Regular-Season Performance
The Los Angeles Lakers made the most of a rough 2022-23 NBA season.
They endured injury issues and worked around a mismatched roster for much of the campaign, but now they're sprinting toward the finish line. They won't be a fun playoff matchup for anyone, and completely ruling out the possibility of a title run seems foolish.
Before jumping ahead to what could happen in the postseason, though, let's revisit what happened in the regular season by power ranking this roster based off of everyone's performances.
The Bottom Tier
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16. Scotty Pippen Jr.
Pippen inked a two-way deal last summer, but he has seen most of his action in the G League. His six NBA appearances spanned just 32 minutes.
15. Cole Swider
Swider also got his two-way deal in July, and he's had just as difficult of a time seeing big-league minutes. He played once in October, four times in January, once in February and nothing beyond that.
14. Davon Reed
Reed joined this team at the deadline and hasn't been seen much since. After seeing action in 35 games for the Denver Nuggets prior to the trade, he has only appeared in seven games for the Lakers.
13. Mo Bamba
This stinks, because a healthy Bamba might help this team, but an ankle sprain has kept him out the last month.
12. Max Christie
The future is bright for Christie, but his present isn't quite reliable enough to get major minutes on a team with playoff aspirations. He has looked solid when given the chance, those chances just haven't come often in the past few months.
11. Rui Hachimura
The Lakers' first addition during trade season, Hachimura has mostly been himself for the Lakers—for better and worse. He is a skilled scorer inside the arc, but he leaves you wanting more from his defense and distance shooting.
The Middle Tier
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10. Wenyen Gabriel
It feels wrong putting Gabriel here, since most players behind him haven't played nearly as much as him and several in front of him haven't, either. His energy is elite, and he squeezes everything he can out of a limited skillset.
9. Malik Beasley
An exercise like this is tough for a team that turned over half of its roster at the trade deadline, and Beasley is one of many examples why. He hasn't been great in L.A. (10.6 points on 38.5/35.1/57.1 shooting), but he's been good enough that he'd slot in higher if he had played more than 24 games for the Purple and Gold.
8. Lonnie Walker IV
Quantity helps Walker's case, as his 1,291 minutes are sixth-most on the team. But a knee injury robbed him of his rhythm, and L.A.'s deadline wheeling and dealing cost him his rotation spot.
7. Jarred Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt's defense and activity level earned him a starting gig just two games after his deadline arrival, but his limited offense has held his role somewhat in check. If he had a trusty three-ball, he might get 40 minutes a night.
6. Troy Brown Jr.
Brown has been mostly "meh," but solid play across 74 games counts for something. He competes on defense and has never looked better from three, posting career marks in makes (1.4 per game) and percentage (37.7).
The Top Tier
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5. D'Angelo Russell
Russell is the trickiest player to rank, because this version of his Lakers' tenure has only included 420 minutes over 14 games. But holy cow, those minutes have been outstanding. Entering Wednesday, the Lakers are 10-4 when he plays, and he paces this team with a massive net rating differential of plus-13.1 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
4. Dennis Schröder
Schröder isn't the fourth-best player on the Lakers, but you can (and I will) make an argument he's had their fourth-best season. He has been a relatively stabilizing presence at point guard, which the Lakers have badly needed. His numbers won't blow you away, but 12.7 points and 4.5 assists against 1.7 turnovers is a solid season for a point guard who doesn't always start.
3. Austin Reaves
Reaves first impressed Lakers fans with his reliability, but this season he has dropped hints of becoming more than just a safe support player. Since the start of March, he has averaged 18.1 points on 55.6/40.7/85.4 shooting, plus 5.8 assists with only 2.1 turnovers.
2. Anthony Davis
A healthy Davis remains one of the planet's highest-impact players. It's more of a 1A-1B partnership with LeBron James, but Davis holds the second spot here for having slightly less impressive numbers. That's a huge testament to James, by the way, since Davis' averages include 26.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 blocks.
1. LeBron James
At some point, James' age will presumably catch up to him, but that still didn't happen during his age-38 season. Injuries are popping up more frequently than they did in the past, but that's about it as far as signs of aging go. James, who became the league's all-time leading scorer this season, still looks like someone who can be the best player on a championship team.
