Ok_Turn6757 | Lakers

857 | 4 hours ago

The fact that Luka’s been in the league for 3 more years is crazy

somebrehonreddit | Clippers

96 | an hour ago

And he did a whole side quest before even getting to the NBA, getting a Euroleague MVP and 3 times champion in the 2nd best basketball league in the world (including another MVP), seriously impressive career

[deleted]

-27 | 2 hours ago

[deleted]

Babylon_Burning | Hornets

34 | an hour ago

Completely unrelated to the comment above you. Commenting an overused joke that has generated engagement over the last 24 hours.

I’m going with “bot”.

ResidentRunner1 | Pistons

3 | an hour ago

Probably, username has the 4 numbers at the end

Ok_Turn6757 | Lakers

1 | 37 minutes ago

Ummmm

Ill-Cod5946 | Timberwolves

-44 | 3 hours ago

Not really, Austin was always an older rookie. Starting at age 23 is rare in the NBA today.

Spownach | Wizards

68 | 3 hours ago

which is why its crazy…

Ill-Cod5946 | Timberwolves

-37 | 2 hours ago

Nothing crazy about it, it makes perfect sense when you look at the others in Luka’s class and age.

GhostOfJuanDixon | Cavaliers

21 | 2 hours ago

Why do people always have to say always or never? He was an older rookie, that’s an unchangeable fact the always is implied

Also you said it’s not really crazy then said exactly why it’s crazy

MeatBald | West

1 | 2 hours ago

Ben Simmons is always ROTY

KazaamFan

-70 | 3 hours ago

And according to Brunson, Luka was nice as a rookie. Luka is another level.

Doctor_Mythical | Wizards

116 | 3 hours ago

according to Brunson??? Like it’s not all on video tape? We have his mvp euro run at 16 in 4k HD. Why we need Brunson’s report lmfao

Takemyfishplease | Lakers

10 | 3 hours ago

I thought he ment friendly

Doctor_Mythical | Wizards

6 | an hour ago

Then why’d he follow up with “he’s on another level”? He’s on another level of friendliness?

Dad_of_the_year | Lakers

36 | 3 hours ago

Is this sarcasm? We all watched Luka dominate as a rookie.

Mario_Viana | Neemias Queta

467 | 4 hours ago

Can’t believe Luka still has so many years of his prime left, wtf was Nico thinking

EatMyShortzZzZzZ | Lakers

288 | 4 hours ago

Unfortunately theyre being wasted on this trash ass roster.

Mario_Viana | Neemias Queta

78 | 4 hours ago

Everyone was saying the same last season and they got to the second round without Luka. They’re not favorites but this team is decent enough that a good streak can at least get them to the wcf

Vicentesteb | Timberwolves

176 | 4 hours ago

They had LeBron last year who completely carried when Luka went down.

This Lakers team will still win a good chunk of games in the RS, but are missing too much in the playoffs.

eutectic_h8r | Raptors

68 | 3 hours ago

They got lucky that they matched up against the one more trash roster of the Rockets who considered rostering a PG to just be a suggestion

Duskuser | Lakers

1 | 21 minutes ago

Yes and also don’t revisionist history the fact that people absolutely thought they were getting stomped regardless.

EbolaDP

-13 | an hour ago

Playoffs are like 80% luck. That team was absolutely good enough to win if lucky.

lilboytuner919 | Lakers

12 | 2 hours ago

Right now that describes every team in the NBA that isn’t OKC, the Spurs or the Knicks. Boston was on that list until yesterday.

Vicentesteb | Timberwolves

5 | an hour ago

I don’t really agree. There’s teams that can give those 3 alot of trouble. A team like Toronto is a way tougher out.

Abkhaziaisnotmyhome

-13 | 3 hours ago

Completely carried with Luke Kennard, Smart, Rui, and Ayton.

peebeesweebees

16 | 3 hours ago

All gone except for masturbAYTON.

You hate to see it.

aminix89 | LAL

0 | 3 hours ago

Doom and gloom. Am I the only excited one?

Mario_Viana | Neemias Queta

0 | 3 hours ago

No! This Lakers team will “surprise” everyone by being a top 4 seed and Luka getting All-Nba, and then eventually fall to Okc or the Spurs in the PO. In the offseason they will slightly overpay for a wing defender and this sub will go back to saying they have no shot

Spownach | Wizards

1 | 3 hours ago

Luka getting All-Nba

big surprise indeed

Dylanychus2

25 | 4 hours ago

The guy who got them there is taking his talents elsewhere

locust098 | Cavaliers

9 | an hour ago

Deadass i dont think they realize how much of a carry job bron had to do in that rockets series. They lose that series ¹⁰⁄₁₀ times without lebron and only reaves

fordat1

1 | 12 minutes ago

Are you implying that the Lakers are trash because they would be severely crippled if they lost their 2 superstar players?

Stephen A Smith is that you?

DirkDoncic99 | Slovenia

24 | 4 hours ago

Each year in which the Lakers are not a real contender, is a wasted Luka year. And they don’t have any ways to get better at first glance

wiggggg | Trail Blazers

9 | 3 hours ago

The last part is the key. What they have now looks like about the best they can become

RemarkableTpt | Lakers

2 | an hour ago

Just because you can’t trade picks in subsequent years doesn’t mean you can’t trade picks anymore. They will always be in the mix for vet mins and draft day trades. This team will get better. It’s young and athletic now.

EatMyShortzZzZzZ | Lakers

6 | 4 hours ago

If some teams the Lakers face have bad injury luck, sure

Virtuallyhere56

7 | 3 hours ago

They replaced LeBron James with Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler

Bignate2001 | Spurs

4 | 2 hours ago

Yeah the Lakers only had the greatest player of all time that run.

superdrone | Mavericks

4 | an hour ago

they got lucky enough to play against the worst offense in the playoffs

AwildYaners | Japan

1 | 13 minutes ago

Yeah, Lakers fans who don’t suddenly recognize the names because they’re not all stars thinking they’re trash is a tale as old as time.

Even when they signed Smart, there was a large contingency that said, “oh great, an over-the-hill often injured vet to replace DFS, wonderful.”

And the difference between both player’s actual output is insane.

math-yoo | Cavaliers

3 | 2 hours ago

The reality of team building hits hard.

reldnahcAL | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

I mean, if we get a starting wing, it’s definitely not a trash ass roster.

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

14 | 4 hours ago

I’d wager Luka is a Wayne Rooney type player and doesn’t have a long prime ahead of him.

Suspicious-Whippet

17 | 4 hours ago

Let’s hope that’s not true.

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

21 | 4 hours ago

He started high level pro ball so early, and he’s not exactly LeBron as far as taking care of your body goes.

refreshing_yogurt [OP]

1 | 3 hours ago

He’s also played in a lot of summer international tournaments. That said, there seems to be a lot of consensus that American AAU is pretty bad for those kids’ bodies and so maybe pro ball in Europe is better in comparison or at least no worse.

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

1 | 3 hours ago

I think the difference between pro ball in Europe and AAU is AAU is much more wide open, and you are playing with peers when it comes to wear and tear. The AAU season is long, but it’s less physical overall.

Kaaalesaaalad | Rockets

1 | 7 minutes ago

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27125793/these-kids-ticking-bombs-threat-youth-basketball

Even if the Euroleague is more physical in play, the aau grind is way worse.

Kiriegloom | Bulls

1 | 5 minutes ago

The issue isn’t physicality though. It’s mileage. The argument is AAU plays kids into the ground before they ever even make it to a pro league

olduser201890 | Mavericks

1 | 33 minutes ago

he’s not nearly as athletic as lebron (which is a good thing for longevity).

everything he does is slow

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

1 | 29 minutes ago

It’s not necessarily a good thing for longevity. Even slow players lose a step, and eventually he’s gonna get to the point where he’s literally unplayable on defense because of how slow he is.

kop47etzki

3 | 2 hours ago

I agree with this, he’s been looking really stiff, you can see it when he runs, he just looks a lot older out there than his age. If you saw him move and didn’t know anything about him, you’d never think he was 27, you’d think he was in his mid to late 30s.

math-yoo | Cavaliers

1 | 2 hours ago

He started really young.

karltee | Spurs

4 | 3 hours ago

That he was promised the #1 draft pick for Luka.

noyram08 | Lakers

2 | 2 hours ago

Now you can add Brad Stevens to that ‘what are they thinking?’ list lol

snek-jazz | Raptors

1 | 4 minutes ago

maybe, maybe not, he started playing pro early, a lot of miles on the clock and he’s not known for been in prime physical condition.

Lianafelice21

152 | 4 hours ago

Unc Reaves

DecentDiver458

116 | 4 hours ago

TIL luke kennard is only 30, literally thought hes like 35+ or something

False_Pear1860

96 | 4 hours ago

That’s like how mf Andre Drummond is still only 32 when I swear the dude is like 45

OnLevel100 | Supersonics

12 | 3 hours ago

Wow I thought he was at least 36.

Was also surprised that Sexton was only 27

yousaytomaco

1 | 36 minutes ago

Greg Oden is only 38 and he washed out of China a decade ago

kawaii155

1 | 22 minutes ago

Anthony Davis is only 33 and Kyrie 34

Comfortable-Cell-165

5 | 4 hours ago

it’s not Luke kennard, it’s balding people

leftsidenotright | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

I mean given how his Detroit tenure ended it’s a miracle he’s even playing still. Dude’s knees were turbofucked and unc’s are the most susceptible to that kind of stuff so I dont blame you lol

SASMareSRB | Spurs

59 | 4 hours ago

Crazy that their oldest player is 28, but I still wouldn’t call them a young team. They’re mostly peak NBA years old.

kl08pokemon | Lakers

9 | 3 hours ago

Yep. Carr and Thiero really the only ones who you realistically can see develop much more (and even that’s hardly certain). Still a better place to be than if several players were on the brink of aging out

MiopTop | Lakers

26 | 3 hours ago

Kessler can still develop, he’s only really had 2.5 years of NBA experience.

Also Austin is the oldest guy on the team but he’s also improved every year of his career so it’s funny that he might still continue to improve as the elder statesman

kenken2024

26 | 4 hours ago

That’s crazy that AR at 28 years old is the “unc” 😅

They need a vet in the locker room like Haslem (UD)…

KHDTX13 | Mavericks

6 | an hour ago

I can’t explain it but AR gotta be the youngest 28 year old I’ve ever seen

leftsidenotright | Knicks

4 | an hour ago

His haircut doesn’t do him any favors but even still he just has a very young face. and elephant in the room, corn fed white boys who don’t smoke and aren’t in lead-based professions don’t really age visibly until they’re at least like 40. Add in being a multimillionaire who lives in California will keep you young forever as long as you stay away from plastic surgery.

MddlingAges | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

Ferris Bueller type look, look like a high schooler at age 30.

AgentOfSPYRAL | Lakers

3 | an hour ago

He’s Cameron not Ferris.

ConvictTheGod | Heat

23 | 3 hours ago

Smart only be 32 is wild i thought he was like 36 lmao

Hugh_Bromont | NBA

6 | 2 hours ago

Athlete aging.

Makes me feel like a pillar of dust when they talk about a player who’s “old” and they be like 34 years old.

StrawberryItten | Spurs

4 | 2 hours ago

Smart has been a ‘NBA Old Man’ since he was a rookie, somehow

Yellow_Evan | Lakers

18 | 4 hours ago

Every other player other than Reaves is younger than me.

StupidWriterProf175z

4 | 3 hours ago

Enjoy your youth :)

SlowCrates

2 | 3 hours ago

I’m older than anyone playing in the nba.

Kill me.

leftsidenotright | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

Brother I am 2 months older than Giannis and Julius Randle and both of those dudes AND their children could kick my ass without even trying.

CtrlAltDelightfull | Minneapolis Lakers

14 | 4 hours ago

Jake being younger than Dalton just doesn’t register in my head. For some reason I always think Jake is like 26

naive-dragon | LAL

4 | 3 hours ago

I looked at Kessler’s wiki page, couldn’t believe he was traded (plus another dude) for Jake once upon a time. Lol

The_Donovan | UTA

3 | 2 hours ago

That was a draft day trade, Grizzlies traded #22 (Kessler) and #29 (TyTy Washington) for #19 (Jake LaRavia) and a future second (2023 #45, GG Jackson). The draft positions got traded, not really the players themselves.

HoopsDefense

12 | 4 hours ago

losing smart is lowkey gonna hurt their defense more than people realize. he was the only one who could guard 1-4 and organize the switches. walker kessler helps at the rim but the perimeter defense is gonna look completely different without smart or bron out there

chadlaca

17 | 3 hours ago

I think pretty much every Lakers fan realizes it.

HoopsDefense

-1 | 2 hours ago

yeah fair enough lol, just feels like people forget how much of a difference having someone who can actually organize the defense makes

rectuSinister | Lakers

2 | an hour ago

Uh, no. I think we all knew how valuable Smart was last year. We all wanted him back as soon as we got him.

McScroggz12 | Lakers

7 | 4 hours ago

I will say it sometimes can be overlooked how youth can be so important in the modern NBA with the pace of the game. It’s why Golden State going super old (if they do) will likely not work almost based on that alone.

KazaamFan

6 | 3 hours ago

Steph is at least one of the best conditioned guys in the league. They will need yaxel, gui, and podz to be the running and energy guys.

KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ | Lakers

3 | 3 hours ago

I’ve also been saying that people looking at the team as if it will all blow up and age negatively is very premature. All players on the roster would likely get better overtime, not worse

fordat1

1 | 8 minutes ago

Its also a completely cluster for these subreddits because they just want teams solely driven by big names which takes time to establish generally if at all. So these subreddits will perpetually hype teams with too many old but big names.

Dry-Manufacturer391

7 | 3 hours ago

Uncstin Reaves

CaptainCrazy110 | Thunder

4 | 34 minutes ago

This is the first time I’ve ever been told that I’m older than every player on an NBA team. I don’t like it.

ksn0vaN7

3 | 3 hours ago

That’s a massive turnaround from the unc squad they had a few years ago.

Ma1ikNabers

3 | 3 hours ago

Austin Reaves is now the Laker with the most melanin

Superdry_GTR

2 | 4 hours ago

Sandro what??

Sweatytubesock

2 | an hour ago

Last Unc Standing

Professional-Lie309 | East

1 | 4 hours ago

Old vs young matchup between the Warriors and Lakers for that play in spot.

triassic_broth

1 | 4 hours ago

Pelinka treats every season like a bridge to a better season. His favorite championship is the one two years from now. He’s playing an endless game of deferred contention.

Crobe | Supersonics

0 | 4 hours ago

except he went all in this year ( its just that his all in is trash )

Siktrikshot | Timberwolves

1 | 4 hours ago

Monkey paw consequence for acquiring Luka.

FroyoSolid8414

1 | 4 hours ago

Bro is older than Yaxel ffs

warzone_afro | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

he’s unc now

Fun-Responsibility97

1 | 3 hours ago

When did kleber turn 30

DrParty85

1 | 3 hours ago

Bronny must call him daddy now.

Dphotog790

1 | 3 hours ago

Old mannn!

ahmadtheanon

1 | 2 hours ago

Oh dang, washed! /s

Curious_Prune | Spurs

1 | 2 hours ago

Yeah lakers will be a contender, but making it to or past WCF will be nearly impossible with the current roster imo

Nabanako111

1 | 2 hours ago

I wish im as old as Austin Reaves

ILikeFPS | Raptors

1 | an hour ago

That’s a crazy stat, I was used to them being an older team lol

Go_Terence_Davis | Raptors

1 | 40 minutes ago

So so far the roster is:

C: Kessler/Ayton

PF: Mamu/LaRavia/Thiero

SF: Grimes/Vando/Knecht

SG: Reaves/Carr

PG: Doncic/Sexton/Bronny

Aggravating_Back111 | Knicks

0 | 4 hours ago

This is good. So now they’ll have many years of mediocrity together.

OldmanJenkins02 | Heat

0 | 4 hours ago

This lakers team is truly caught in a shit limbo situation in the league. They have a generational talent with Luka on their team, but they also need a rebuild. They clearly don’t have the talent to compete in the west, their financial situation is awful but they also need to stay relevant too. They are destined to be a play-in team for the next 5 years and go 47-35. They’ll always be just good enough to never be bad, but they have no picks and will just be stuck with injury prone Walker Kessler and then AR’s contract which will look awful in 3 years. They’ll never trade Luca, but I wonder if Luca will he looking at the future of this team and wonder if he should be traded

Swift_42690 | Knicks

7 | 4 hours ago

Lakers as constructed are definitely not a play in team. You’re severely under rating Lukas supporting cast and JJ reddick as a coach. They will be a top 6 playoff team if healthy and could push as high as 3 seed. But yes I agree that they’re not on the same level as the spurs and OKC but no one in the west is at this moment.

KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ | Lakers

2 | 3 hours ago

Some common sense? Jesus Christ I’m shocked because it’s so rare.

I see our offseason as a wash in the floor. We lost LeBron James and Marcus smart, it we got a deeper rotation than we had last year. People somehow forget that bronny was getting actual rotation minutes last year and we were the three seed until injuries. Just replacing that with sexton is pretty big

People also forget that Bron was injured for a long time to start the season and smart came off the bench. Our record that we got was largely driven by Luka and Reaves, which any Laker fan or person who follows the team would tell you

Do we have flexibility via trade? No, we gave all of that up for this which is my gripe with the whole thing. I think we could have negotiated a better price, but it’s close. Of If I heard the picks were like top 2 protected I’ll call it a fair trade. But aside from that the product on the floor is a very young team that will grow together that was already top 4 in the west last year.

Swift_42690 | Knicks

1 | 3 hours ago

I can see the lakers being competitive against the spurs and thunder in a playoff series and if things break right, might even win one of those series. It’s hard picturing beating both though. The west is brutal.

SlicedMango | Raptors

1 | an hour ago

They are a top 3 team in the West with the roster, I think they’re being highly underrated. They can definitely upset the Spurs or Thunder in a playoffs series

BombshellExpose | Lakers

2 | 4 hours ago

Yea alright, go play with Giannis, Bam, and the vet minimum gang

Also pretty funny coming from the perennial play-in champs

OldmanJenkins02 | Heat

0 | 3 hours ago

Lol my bad man, yep, I’ll rephrase it to you guys are going to be legendary and go 82-0. Greatest team ever assembled and best cap situation the league has ever seen

BombshellExpose | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

Okay Heat fan

Dat_Boi_John | Slovenia

0 | 3 hours ago

So, basically the Mavs before the 2024 trade deadline :/

SlicedMango | Raptors

0 | an hour ago

The Luka, Reaves, Kessler core can rival the Wemby, Castle, Harper and the SGA, Jdub, Chet cores

mattroom

0 | 4 hours ago

The Lakers did really well getting Sandro and Kessler. They’re all impactful players and the advanced stats love them. Their leftover roster is pretty mediocre, though…

Ranked 50th percentile or below, LaRavia, Vando, and Knecht have all stagnated and are not going to get significantly better. Ayton is ranked like 30th percentile on most AIO player metrics as well for the regular season… And Bronny is Bronny, AKA ranks as one of the worst players in the NBA still.

A Doncic, Kessler, and Sandro core is definitely a start and they own their 2028, 2030, 2031, and 2032 draft picks, but the rest of the roster is just churn.

If they can get a big signing in free agency + go all in with their picks, though, they have a clear path to contending again. Just accrue as many simultaneous expirings and hit a star with the Lakers charm and manufacture an all in trade with their first rounders.

That’ll result in a Doncic-Sandro-Kessler core with hopefully a star guard and a really good wing (i.e. Cam Johnson + Kyrie would be insane in 2027). And then some rotation worthy NBA guys. That would be a strong playoff team.

KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ | Lakers

4 | 3 hours ago

You are forgetting Reaves

MiopTop | Lakers

4 | 3 hours ago

AI comment

redbillybill

-1 | 3 hours ago

Unfortunately the youth won’t matter, roster is trash. They may be 6th or 7th in the West, definitely a 1st round exit team.

OriYell

-3 | 4 hours ago

The irony that they got much younger but also got much slower

BombshellExpose | Lakers

3 | 4 hours ago

Slower?

itscominghomemate

1 | 4 hours ago

You thought LeBron was fast?

MiopTop | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

… how??

twinkelstick

1 | 2 hours ago

Sexton and Grimes are fast as hell. Go watch film if havent u watched them all these years. And Mamu is incredible fast for his size as well.

techgenusantinomy | United States

-5 | 4 hours ago

Asstin is a role player playoff dropping bum who fleeced the Fakers and cursed Puka into never winning jack as a Faker.

wqra_ | Lakers

3 | 3 hours ago

i know what you are

StrawberryItten | Spurs

1 | an hour ago

A bot?

Austin Reaves is now the oldest player on the Lakers roster