Lakers 2024-25 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

When it comes to their offseason, you have to give the Los Angeles Lakers this: We sure did talk about them a lot.

Los Angeles drove plenty of conversations thanks to LeBron James opting out and ultimately re-signing, the hiring of J.J. Redick as head coach, the arrival of Bronny James in the 2024 NBA draft, and the general questions over whether the front office would prioritize adding a third star.

Ultimately, appointing Redick was the biggest gamble the front office made. General manager Rob Pelinka is counting on a new coach and squad continuity to propel the franchise forward.

That points to either a strong level of confidence in the current roster or a belief the ship has sailed on winning another title with the tandem of LeBron and Anthony Davis. If it's the latter, then mortgaging more of the future would be throwing good money after bad.

Because of the Lakers' understated summer, the expectations are probably about as low as they've been since James first signed in 2018.

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2024-25 Lakers Schedule Details

Season Opener: vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, Oct. 22, 10 p.m. ET

Championship Odds: +3500 (bet $100 to win $3,500), per FanDuel

Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on NBA.com.

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Top Matchups

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors finished one game ahead of the Lakers in 2022-23. Last year, Los Angeles was one game ahead of Golden State.

It's always noteworthy when James and Stephen Curry cross paths because of their shared history on the court and what they've meant to the NBA over the years. Because of where the Warriors and Lakers are in the Western Conference hierarchy, these encounters also carry actual stakes when it comes to the standings.

Golden State decided chasing another title with Curry was more important than preserving its Big Three. Klay Thompson exited in a sign-and-trade because the Warriors weren't going to give him the money or role to which he had grown accustomed to over 11 seasons. This fork in the road was always coming for Golden State with Thompson or Draymond Green at some point.

The Warriors may not be that much worse without Thompson since De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson combine to provide nearly as much value on the court. That should once again ensure Steve Kerr's squad sits on the top-six/play-in bubble, which would put it in direct opposition with the Lakers.

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Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers have finished with a better record than the Lakers in each of the last four years. Should that streak extend to five seasons, something must've gone horribly wrong for those in purple and gold.

The Clippers always knew the threat of Paul George leaving as a free agent loomed, and based on his recounting, they don't appear to have been overly motivated to prevent him from hitting the open market. Still, one can help but wonder whether the front office truly reckoned with the inevitable fallout stemming from his departure.

Now, the Clippers' championship fortunes rest squarely on the oft-injured Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, whose gradual decline continued during his first year in L.A.

With their old Staples Center roommates reeling, this is a golden opportunity for the Lakers to reassert themselves as the best team in Southern California.

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Season Forecast

It's perhaps telling how James refrained from making any bold statements when addressing the Lakers' expectations for the upcoming season.

"My expectation is for us to go to work every day, try to get better every day and push each other every day," he told reporters in July while on national team duty. "Me as a captain, A.D. as the captain, we got to hold everybody accountable from the player standpoint. We're coming in with a new system, so we have to learn the system and see what Coach Redick and the rest of the coaching staff want us to do, and then go from there."

The thing that worries you the most from a fan perspective is that James and Davis played 71 and 76 games respectively in 2023-24. Any championship formula starts with those two staying healthy, and the hope has always been that Los Angeles would be a serious contender as long as they stayed on the court.

That's why it's potentially foreboding that the Lakers only won 47 games and claimed the seventh seed in the West last year. James and Davis were not only durable but also performed at a high level, and it didn't matter all that much.

The pair are now a year older with no guarantees over whether they can avoid the injury bug again.

In addition, the conference is just as strong as it was a season ago and perhaps more so with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings all making big moves. The Memphis Grizzlies will make a positive leap with Ja Morant back. Even the San Antonio Spurs won't be a 22-win pushover again with Victor Wembanyama in Year 2.

Assuming Redick is an upgrade on the sideline over Darvin Ham and moves the needle on that front, this still doesn't look like a roster with a wealth of hidden upside.

Record Prediction: 46-36