ESPN is bracing for a rough landing in Los Angeles.
In the network’s panel vote on the NBA’s most disappointing teams for the 2026-27 season, the Lakers came out on top with 32 points. The Detroit Pistons followed with 27, then the Golden State Warriors with 26, the Miami Heat with 22 and the Boston Celtics with 17.
That verdict lands even as the Lakers have spent the offseason reshaping everything around Luka Doncic after LeBron James’ departure. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin pointed to the pressure that comes with the franchise’s standard.
“There’s no more potent formula for disappointment in the NBA than the weight of expectations combined with an organizational standard for perennial championship contention.”
The Lakers are coming off back-to-back 50-win seasons under JJ Redick, going 50-32 in 2024-25 and then 53-29 last season. Holding that line without LeBron is now the challenge.
Los Angeles has gone aggressive in building around the 27-year-old Doncic. Austin Reaves was kept on a max extension, and the team’s biggest offseason swing was a trade for Walker Kessler that cost a large chunk of future trade capital. The front office also added Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Kevon Looney and Jaden Hardy, and selected Cameron Carr in the draft.
One target the Lakers couldn’t land was Jonathan Kuminga. They were connected to the forward all offseason, but he ended up signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On paper, the offense has plenty of firepower. Between Doncic, Reaves and the rest of the new additions, scoring should not be the issue.
The other end of the floor is where the questions pile up. Kessler brings elite rim protection, and Thybulle adds another defensive specialist, but perimeter defense, wing depth and the lack of two-way players remain real concerns. In a crowded Western Conference, that could get exposed quickly against top competition.
ESPN also projected the Lakers for just 45 wins, which would mean an eight-win drop from last season and the worst mark of Redick’s three years as head coach. Given how hard the Lakers went in their second offseason with Luka and their first without James, anything below 50 wins is going to read as a letdown.
That puts even more pressure on the players around Doncic. Reaves got a major financial commitment, Kessler came at a steep trade price, and the new faces will have to fit quickly into Redick’s rotation.
Doncic, for his part, seems to be treating this next phase seriously. He has looked noticeably slimmer this offseason, and the Lakers even traveled to Slovenia for a mini-camp organized by Luka.
There’s another twist here, too: the same ESPN panel that pegged the Lakers as the league’s most disappointing team also predicted Doncic would win the scoring title again.
So the Lakers could wind up with a superstar piling up points while the team around him falls short of expectations. After two straight 50-win seasons, merely staying competitive won’t be enough. Los Angeles has rebuilt around Luka, and now it has to prove the new setup can still keep the Lakers near the top of the West.
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