After LeBron James returned to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup, it looks like a seamless fit. They are on fire, so adding James to the current roster further boosts their chances of reaching the NBA Finals, but Udonis Haslem disagrees.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best teams in the Western Conference in the 2025-26 season. Of course, most people are pointing to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the best team in the league, but the Lakers could surprise people.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been excellent this season, cementing themselves as All-Stars who could help LeBron James compete for another title. Given that James has not been present for the first month of the season, the two players who picked up the slack have performed well.
Since James is doing well in his reintegration, people are already excited about the Lakers’ potential as a contender. Unfortunately for Lakers fans, three-time champion Udonis Haslem believes they should not get ahead of themselves.
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Haslem gets honest about the Lakers’ contender status
On the NBA on Prime Video broadcast, the panel discussed how the Lakers could work out as a contender. Zach Lowe was baffled by how seamless the transition has been for James after a long injury spell.
There is a discussion about the Lakers being a potential Finals team after they moved ahead of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference standings. It is a valid question because the Lakers have done this without James for most of the season.
Of course, the Rockets and Nuggets have had their own injury issues, which have hampered their chances of winning games. With that in mind, Haslem was the one to shoot down some of the hype the Lakers have been getting lately.
“Hell no, they’re playing well right now. Kudos to them. We’re not gonna discredit what other guys are doing, like we think the other teams are just gonna fall off?
This is not a knock on the Lakers. What we are talking about, how good the Western Conference is. This is not a knock on the Lakers at all,” Haslem said on the NBA on Prime broadcast.
“But to your point, in a seven-game series, we got Luka, we got Austin, and we got LeBron. LeBron, as great as he is, is not the defender he used to be. And we don’t even know what the defense gonna be like with Luka and Austin Reaves, when you get a seven-game series.”
The Lakers still have some issues with the current roster
On the same broadcast, Dirk Nowitzki pointed out that the Lakers have a supreme offensive system led by the three-headed monster of James, Doncic, and Reaves. However, he has concerns regarding the Lakers’ defense and how they will play against the top teams.
Considering the Thunder are miles ahead of any other team in the league, the Lakers might struggle against them. They are not as athletic as the Thunder, so OKC head coach Mark Daigneault might have the strategic advantage there.
Deandre Ayton is a decent center, but he is not the rim protector the Lakers would want against some of the league’s best teams. Haslem might have been a bit spirited in response to what Lowe said, but the Lakers should have some concerns come Playoff time.
In the meantime, the Lakers should keep riding the momentum. They have the talent and potential. They need to put it all together, along with defensive stability, to compete with the other top teams in the West.