With the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener less than one week away, there’s no better time to roll out some bold predictions for the squad’s 2025-26 campaign.
Let’s break down five lofty predictions for the marquee franchise as it pursues its 18th championship in team history in 2026.
1. Jake LaRavia leads the team in 3-point percentage
The former No. 19 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft is one Lakers addition who has flown under the radar. That makes sense at first glance because the team’s other additions — guard Marcus Smart and big man Deandre Ayton — are both more recognizable and have accomplished more in the league, but LaRavia will go on to do wonders for the Lakers’ floor spacing.
LaRavia was nothing short of a 3-point marksman across 66 games played with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings last season. He buried his 3s at a 42.3 percent clip, and he carries over that scorching shooting to his maiden season as a Laker.
The 23-year-old shoots a team-best 44.5 percent from deep on the season, and now that two elite playmakers in forward LeBron James and guard Luka Doncic find him for open shots, LaRavia’s volume shooting the 3-ball increases compared to years past as well. He attempts a career-high 4.8 3s per contest.
With the outside shooting boost he gives the Lakers, his two-year, $12 million contract looks like a huge bargain. He plays a role very similar to the one forward Sam Hauser does for the Boston Celtics.
2. Dalton Knecht is not a consistent member of J.J. Redick’s rotation
A lot of Knecht’s rookie season went smoothly, but in light of some quiet showings in the Summer League and preseason leading up to his sophomore year, his role will be relegated quite a bit compared to the previous campaign.
Knecht’s 3-point shot helped him get consistent minutes as a first-year player, but with LaRavia now in the fold, his shooting chops at the position won’t be as needed as they once were. LaRavia also plays the forward position, and he’s demonstrated to be equally as effective as Knecht as a 3-point shooter all the while being the better all-around player.
LaRavia monopolizes the available backup forward minutes, and as a result, Knecht doesn’t even suit up in 50 games for the Lakers. He’s limited to 45 games played, and over the course of the long season, there are lengthy stretches where he only sees the floor during garbage time.
By the season’s end, fans are scratching their heads, wondering why the Lakers didn’t just trade him to the Charlotte Hornets for big man Mark Williams ahead of last year’s deadline. A trade was agreed to last season, but Los Angeles ended up nixing the deal and keeping Knecht in the process.
3. Luka Doncic becomes the fourth player in NBA history to average a triple-double
Right now, the list of players who have averaged triple-doubles over the course of a full campaign is incredibly exclusive. The only people who have accomplished such a feat are Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook, Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic and former Milwaukee Bucks star Oscar Robertson.
But Doncic will soon join that club, as he will become the fourth NBA player to do so this season. Thanks in large to Doncic’s physical transformation over the year, he will have the energy to play a career-high 38.5 minutes per game, and that additional playing time will allow him to reach new statistical heights.
A historic statistical season of that nature for Doncic also shouldn’t surprise anyone because he’s been a nightly triple-double threat his whole career. Across 450 career regular-season games up to this point, he’s averaged 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game.
The new and improved physique proves to be just what the doctor ordered for him to be able to stuff the stat sheet in a way only several other players have done.
4. Lakers win 50 games again but don’t land top-three seed in West
In terms of win total, the Lakers’ 2025-26 regular season will play out similar to last season. Los Angeles will win 5o games on the dot, though with so many new faces getting integrated, the team will get off to a slower start than it did in the 2024-25 campaign.
Los Angeles locks in a playoff spot with a 50-win season but in a Western Conference that’s full of competitive teams and title contenders, that many victories isn’t enough to secure a top-three seed.
Such a win total got the Lakers the No. 3 seed last season, but with the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers all racking up at least 52 victories, the Lakers finish with the No. 5 seed. As a result, Los Angeles doesn’t even have home-court advantage in the opening round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
5. Lakers make surprise run to Western Conference Finals
Despite their lack of home-court advantage, for the first time in a little while, the Lakers will be playing in the Western Conference Finals next year.
Los Angeles’ playoff journey starts with a first-round series against the Clippers in a matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the West. The Clippers’ tremendous depth ensures that the series goes the distance. It goes to a Game 7, but the Lakers win that game, and that contest doesn’t feel like much of a road game with all of the fans of the storied franchise that are in attendance.
After dispatching their crosstown rivals, the Lakers then take on forward Kevin Durant and the No. 1 seed Houston Rockets in the second round. Combine Houston’s youth and inexperience with a poor shooting series from Durant (Jarred Vanderbilt guards him as well as one can), and the Lakers don’t have nearly as much trouble eliminating the team compared to the Clippers. The Rockets get sent home in a gentleman’s sweep.
However, the Lakers’ memorable playoff run comes to an end at the hands of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. Los Angeles gets thoroughly outplayed with a Finals berth on the line and manages to win just one game before getting eliminated. Plus, the Lakers’ lone win of the series comes after they are already in an insurmountable 3-0 hole.