A major part of why the Los Angeles Lakers saw their season end already in the first round was many of their players feeling as champions and not taking this season seriously, according to sports analyst Stephen A. Smith. He was clear that LeBron James is not among those players and that he was doing what he always does.
“There’s a lot of people for the Los Angeles Lakers that were accused of not prioritizing, taking this season seriously enough because they were feeling themselves as reigning defending champions,” Smith said on ESPN’s Get Up. “You’ve seen many times when dudes in professional sports they’ve won one they think they’ve arrived and they forgot that the next year is a new year.
“That’s what the Lakers did, they blew their opportunity and as a result it’s over. And oh by the way, before last year they have missed playoffs six straight years. Let’s not act like it’s beyond the pale that the Lakers could plummet. Let’s stop that.”
