It is always comforting to have those directly interested in your downfall throw you high praise in spite of that. Say what you will about Draymond Green, but that man knows what it takes to win an NBA championship. The Golden State Warriors legend believes the Los Angeles Lakers can do it.
Green dropped a new episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, to address the state of the NBA and several topics with relation to that. One of the conversation points revolved around who the contenders are in the Western Conference. The Warriors forward identified five clear teams.
Green mentioned his own team, the Warriors, as one of those squads. The defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were another easy inclusion among the five franchises listed. The Denver Nuggets were tough to ignore in the conversation too.
After those three, Green brought up both of the teams in Los Angeles. The Warriors do-it-all forward did believe that both the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers would need 'a couple breaks' to truly hit their stride as contenders. Health was the main focus of that conversation.
Draymond Green shocks fans by calling Lakers legitimate title contenders
There is no doubt that those in Los Angeles believe the Lakers have what it takes to win a Larry O'Brien Trophy this season. That much has been clear since the beginning of training camp for the franchise.
Championship habits. Championship communication. Championship shape. pic.twitter.com/zQkv7DdZyQ
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) October 2, 2025
However, the rest of the NBA world has not been as convinced. The Lakers have been one of the more polarizing teams entering this season when it comes to predicting the success that can be had.
Green does have some bias here that should be obvious to most. Him and LeBron James are certainly no strangers off the court. The friendship between those two would certainly play a factor in the assessment here.
Even so, completely ignoring the message here because of that bias is just as disingenuous as not acknowledging it at all. There are plenty of reasons to think the Lakers could put it all together by the end of the year.
Perhaps at 2-2, with injuries up and down the roster, it can be difficult for some to envision a contender. However, the NBA has never been a league completely defined by hot starts.
The framework for a title team is there, with the star power at the top shining bright as ever. The Lakers will mainly need to tinker with the support around their three-headed monster. If Rob Pelinka can do his part before February, then April, May, and June could be a fun time in Los Angeles.