With Tuesday’s 121-110 loss against the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers are officially eliminated from any possible playoff bid this season.
The San Antonio Spurs will fill the last slot for the Play-in tourney, capping off a dominant 116-97 dub over the Denver Nuggets. As such, solidified by the Suns’ 63rd victory, the Lakers were sent packing for an early shocking exit.
In what could be a promising campaign after assembling a Big Three of future Hall of Famers in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook last offseason, Los Angeles stumbled out of contention for plenty of reasons and created disappointing rumblings all season long. The historic team will now face gigantic questions moving forward in their own finish line.
The Lakers failed to advance in the playoffs for the second time in four years of the LeBron era which started in 2018. Still, the four-time MVP managed to tally astounding numbers at age 37 in the 2021-2022 season: 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Now, the narrative of his future stay in Hollywood will be in the mix further of the biggest storylines this year.
With their picks still gone until 2026, Westbrook possibly picking his player option for next season, Davis still having durability issues, and LeBron facing father time, the purple and gold indeed have a daunting summer to face.
