The Lakers seem to be ahead of schedule to start the 2025-26 season. Obviously, the Luka Doncic-led team isn’t trying to tank, but they are notably lacking in some areas in comparison to other Western Conference juggernauts. However, that hasn’t held them back from ballooning to the second seed. Their level of play has won the heart of many, but not all.
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Out of all the people who have turned into Lakers believers, Dirk Nowitzki might be the most popular. Of course, the Dallas Mavericks legend has ties to the team due to Doncic. But that isn’t the only reason he has become a fan of what the Lakers are doing.
“Offensively, [the Lakers] have so many playmakers that can go a ton of ways,” Nowitzki said on NBA on Prime. “Luka is having an incredible season. LeBron is great at fitting in and making everybody else better.”
Nowitzki also gave a quick nod to Austin Reaves, who has been essential to the Lakers’ success. The undrafted star is averaging a career-high 28.8 points per game. That number may not be sustainable, but his ability to be a secondary scorer sure is.
Questions began to rise regarding LeBron James’ fit on the team, considering their elite play with him on the sidelines. In the four games he has played, the Lakers have looked amazing. Taking all of these things into consideration, Nowitzki is under the impression that we have to begin rethinking the number of contenders that are in the West.
“To me, OKC is clearly the favorite to win the West. But we’ll see. Maybe they can sneak into the Western Conference Finals,” Nowitzki proclaimed.
No more than two seconds passed by after Nowitzki’s comments when Udonis Haslem shared his reaction. Instead of offering support in the German superstar’s beliefs, he provided great pushback.
“Hell no,” Haslem declared. “Kudos to them, but we’re not going to discredit what other guys are doing.” Haslem won’t refute that the Lakers are currently playing excellent basketball. His opposing stance doesn’t come from a place of hate, but from rationale. He simply views other teams in the West as greater in comparison to the Lakers.
The three-time NBA champion also went into depth on the weaknesses Los Angeles has that are too big for him to gloss over.
“In a seven-game series, we’ve got Luka, we’ve got Austin, and we’ve got LeBron. LeBron, as great as he is, he isn’t the defender he used to be. And we don’t even know what the defense is going to be like with Luka and Austin Reaves,” Haslem said.
Defense is crucial for any team with championship aspirations. In Haslem’s opinion, the Lakers just don’t have the talent to get stops when it matters. He isn’t out of line for that assessment, considering this same core struggled defensively in their first-round series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
Of course, this is a new season. This Lakers team could be completely different in a playoff setting. However, unless Los Angeles makes a big move, they’ll just have to prove Haslem wrong for him to become a believer.
