The 2021–2022 Lakers came in with big championship dreams. The Purple and Gold was still riding the high off of their 2020 title, hoping they could recreate that magic. They loaded up on veterans like Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, as well as bigs like DeAndre Jordan. On paper it looked promising, but the chemistry never really clicked the way they hoped.
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Injuries piled up, the rotations never settled, and the team just couldn’t find any consistent rhythm. Even with LeBron James putting up huge numbers, the Lakers didn’t even contend for the Play-In and were eliminated from playoff contention by April, ending up with 33 wins. It could be considered a What-If, but even then, that would be putting too much faith in the aging roster.
Still, that doesn’t mean that the 21-22 roster didn’t have a good time. DeAndre spoke about it during a recent interview on All The Smoke. The one-time All-Star was asked by host Matt Barnes what it was like to play on that team, specifically with LeBron.
“That team was fun,” Jordan responded. “We were obviously a lot older. Playing for the Lakers is a different beast man. It was fun. I think obviously that team didn’t pan out to be what it was supposed to be.”
He’s not wrong. LA was the betting odds favorite to win the Western Conference at the start of the year. But they finished with a 33-49 record. These things happen. But the Lakers franchise is considered a holy grail in sports. They are easily the most popular team in the NBA. Their history proves why.
DeAndre didn’t let that year’s failures bother him though. “But it was cool. Playing with one of the greatest, if not the greatest player to ever play the game was amazing. Connection was great.”
“I thought it was fun playing for the Lakers, it just didn’t pan out to what I thought it was going to be for me individually and collectively as a unit. But I had a good time,” he added.
That year the Lakers were a mismatched collection of big names who couldn’t quite turn the hype into results, but still found moments of joy in the grind. The season may go down as one of the franchise’s most disappointing, yet the stories from inside the locker room paint a picture of a group that genuinely enjoyed the ride.
And in the end, DeAndre got to share the court with LeBron. He got to wear the Lakers jersey was still something special, regardless of the standings. It wasn’t the season anyone expected, but it was one they’ll all remember in their own way.
