LeBron James: Lakers Couldn't Hit the Side of a F--king Cow's Ass to Open NBA Season

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James sat down with former NBA three-point marksman JJ Redick this week to discuss the shooting struggles that held L.A. back early in the 2023-24 season.

Speaking on their Mind the Game Pod (beginning at the 37:20 mark), James and Redick talked about the Lakers' slow start on offense, particularly from a shooting perspective:

"We couldn't shoot," James said. "We always said the law of averages is going to even itself out. The first month-and-a-half, two months, we couldn't hit the side of a f--king cow's ass from three point. We couldn't."

More than halfway through the season, the Lakers were unable to maintain any semblance of consistency, as they were 24-25 on Jan. 30. Offensive woes were a big reason, but they turned it around in the second half and went 23-10 the rest of the way.

That stretch helped take the Lakers from being a middle-to-low-tier team offensively to one of the better offensive teams in the league.

By the end of the season, the Lakers were eighth in the NBA in three-point shooting at 37.7 percent, plus they ranked second in field goal percentage at 49.9 percent, sixth in scoring at 118.0 points per game and second in free throws made per game at 18.9.

James had a significant hand in the improvement, shooting a career-best 41.0 percent from beyond the arc, but he was far from the only contributor.

D'Angelo Russell (41.5 percent) and Rui Hachimura (42.2 percent) were also highly efficient from deep, and Anthony Davis shot a team-best 55.6 percent from the field among players who averaged at least 13 minutes per game.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, their resurgence started too late, and they had to go through the play-in tournament in order to reach the playoffs.

They did so, but it set up a first-round matchup with the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets. The Lakers played the Nuggets tight in essentially every contest, but the Nuggets prevailed in five games.

It was a disappointing end to the season for LeBron and Co., but assuming James returns to play for the Lakers in 2024-25, they have a great deal of positive momentum to build upon.