These Los Angeles Lakers will not go down in NBA lore or even enter the pantheon of greatest single-season championship teams, despite their names being ready to be etched on that sparkling gold trophy.
It would be hard to see these Lakers beating the best of the recent Golden State Warriors, a squad with similar historic talents at the top but far more dependable role players in between. They’re not quite a one-year wonder, like the 2006 Miami Heat featuring a slowing-down Shaquille O’Neal and rising Dwyane Wade, but likely won’t be mentioned among the great teams we’ve seen in the last two decades.