NBA General Managers were asked which team's level of success is the toughest to predict for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season. The Los Angeles Lakers did not win the category, but they were not ignored in the voting.
In the league's annual survey of the NBA GMs, the Philadelphia 76ers led the way for who was the most difficult to team to predict the quality of at 47 percent of the vote. That is a fair assessment for a team with an unreliable franchise superstar.
The Lakers were involved in a large tie for second place with the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans. This is technically an improvement from last season's survey when Los Angeles led the voting.
Still, coupling the voting here with the fact that the Lakers were predicted to finish seventh in the Western Conference is a telling statement of how NBA GMs feel about the team ahead of opening night on Oct. 21. These surveys are far from a definitive authority on how a season will go, but it tells everyone what they need to know: Los Angeles has a lot to prove in 2025-26.
Lakers enter the new season as one of basketball’s biggest mysteries
It is hard to fault the NBA GMs for voting the way that they did. On one hand, there is a clear feeling of the Lakers being underestimated here. On the other hand, there are a lot of wild cards with this team.
Health was always slated to be one of the bigger troubles for the Lakers in 2025-26. A 40-year-old LeBron James is already set to be on the shelf to start the new year. Marcus Smart, one of the team's biggest additions in the summer, is a heavy injury concern as well. Jarred Vanderbilt finally looks up to speed, but the doubt is not eliminated there altogether.
Marcus Smart said he plans to take things “day-by-day” with his Achilles tendinopathy. He plans on playing in the preseason but isn’t sure if he’ll be available on Sunday yet.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 9, 2025
Beyond the questions of health, there are mysteries on the court. Mainly, does the Deandre Ayton gamble go boom or bust?
Ayton is almost guaranteed to be an upgrade over Jaxson Hayes under any scenario. Most are still wondering whether the concerns that plagued him in the past have followed him to Los Angeles.
One would also be fair to hypothesize about what comes next for the Lakers. There is a quiet agreement that Rob Pelinka needs to make upgrades before the NBA trade deadline in February. What does that all-in push look like? Do the Lakers even get one to begin with?
The good news for the team, amid all of this and more, is that the start to the new season offers a favorable schedule. That should help them begin on the right foot, and hopefully for the Lakers, stay there for the rest of the campaign.