Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Marcus Smart: Lakers Need To Fix Defense Before It’s Too Late

The defensive issues for the Los Angeles Lakers seem to be getting worse as this season goes on. After Tuesday night’s blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers are 4-5 in their last nine games.

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Lakers likely to explore adding defensive help after another collapse

The Lakers still sit at 19-9 despite Tuesday’s 132-108 loss in Phoenix, but the warning signs are flashing on the defensive end. Los Angeles owns a 117.6 defensive rating, which ranks 24th in the NBA.

Los Angeles Lakers News / Silver Screen & Roll / December 24

Tracking how many games Lakers can miss before becoming ineligible for awards

One of the crazier rule changes the NBA has made in recent years was the 65-game minimum for players to qualify for awards. It’s led to some truly wonky results like a whole host of the league’s top defenders being ineligible for Defensive Player of the Year and plenty of deserving players missing out on honors they had rightful cases for.

J.J. Redick News / Hoops Rumors / December 24

JJ Redick Calls Out Lakers’ Defensive Effort

The Lakers still have a strong 19-9 record after Tuesday’s 132-108 loss in Phoenix, but their 117.6 defensive rating places them 24th in the NBA, and none of the six clubs below them in that category have more than 10 wins so far this season.

Victor Wembanyama News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'NBA Christmas Day 40-point games' quiz

In NBA history, a player has scored 40 or more points on Christmas Day on 30 occasions. How many of those can you name in five minutes?

The 'NBA all-time scoring leaders' quiz

The 'Most 40-point games in NBA history' quiz

The 'NBA playoff point-per-game leaders' quiz

Luka Doncic News / Lakers Nation / December 24

Watch: Luka Doncic Sends Message To Rockets Ahead Of Christmas Day Game

As the holiday season approaches, the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot to be thankful for as Luka Doncic is turning in one of the best seasons of his career.

NBA News / Yardbarker

Which NBA teams have the best Christmas Day records?

Christmas and the NBA go hand-in-hand. The day serves for the top hoops league in the world, like Thanksgiving for the NFL. However, while the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are perpetual Thanksgiving participants, the NBA has mixed up the matchups and the teams throughout the years.

NBA News / Los Angeles Lakers on SI / December 24

Veteran NBA Guard Reveals He Nearly Signed With Lakers Before Choosing Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers missed out on signing a champion guard in free agency recently. After getting swept out of the 2023 Western Conference Finals by

Los Angeles Lakers News / Silver Screen & Roll / December 24

Rotation Trust Level: Is a bench shakeup required?

While the Lakers may have figured things out with Jarred Vanderbilt, that certainly hasn’t solved all the issues. The bench remains an area of weakness, particularly offensively, for LA.

NBA News / NBA on ClutchPoints / December 24

Lakers’ JJ Redick wishes he had more players who play hard like Jordan Goodwin

The Los Angeles Lakers were once again dominated in a second straight game, and this time it came in the hands of the Phoenix Suns, as they lost 132-108.

Austin Reaves News / Lakers Nation / December 24

Austin Reaves ‘Felt Good’ In Return Despite Minutes Restriction

Austin Reaves missed three games due to a calf strain but made his return in the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns. Although the Lakers were blown out, Reaves looked good physically as he had his normal speed and burst on the floor.

J.J. Redick News / Lakers Nation / December 24

JJ Redick: Playing Hard Comes Down To ‘Making The Choice’

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick had nothing to be proud of after seeing his team get run off the floor by the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. The Lakers lost to the Suns 132-108, though the final score still didn’t do their performance justice.

Los Angeles Lakers News / Lakers Nation / December 24

Luka Doncic Ranked No. 1, LeBron James & Austin Reaves Top 10 For NBA Social Views

The Los Angeles Lakers star trio of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James is arguably the best in the entire NBA. Doncic and Reaves are the highest-scoring

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The 'NFL's active 300-yard passers' quiz

The 'Multiple 3-rushing-TD games in a season' quiz

The '2004-05 NFL passing leaders' quiz

The 'Most multi-rushing-TD NFL games' quiz

Los Angeles Lakers News / EssentiallySports / December 24

JJ Redick Sends Firm Reminder to Rob Pelinka Ahead of Trade Deadline

The LA Lakers dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, a surprising turn given how disjointed their defense has looked for weeks. The Phoenix Suns exploited those lapses once again, prompting JJ Redick to speak with unfiltered honesty.

NBA News / FirstSportz / December 24

LeBron James Reveals Way to Stop ‘Manipulative’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Over the years, LeBron James has seen players come through with skills that are not only difficult to stop, but their ability to find ways to win eventually made them one of the all-time greats.

Marcus Smart News / NBA on ClutchPoints / December 24

Marcus Smart reveals why every team is trying to ‘kill’ Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have squared off against the Phoenix Suns three times in the past three weeks, with the latest resulting in a 132-108 loss on Tuesday night.

NBA News / Yardbarker / December 24

Suns' Dillon Brooks gets his revenge on LeBron James

Brooks and James have had a mostly one-sided rivalry since the 2023 playoffs.

ESPN messed up their Dillon Brooks-LeBron James graphic so badly

Who should really start the 2025 NBA All-Star Game?

The 25 most notable one-time NBA All-Stars

The 'College football color teams' quiz

Jaxson Hayes News / Athlon Sports / December 23

Lakers Announce Jaxson Hayes News After Leaving Suns Game

The Los Angeles Lakers were already shorthanded entering Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns. Both Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton returned from respective injuries, but Luka Doncic was out of action due to a leg issue.

Deandre Ayton News / NBA on ClutchPoints / December 23

Why Deandre Ayton feels Lakers have overcome early injuries

LOS ANGELES – Despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ solid start to the regular season at 19-8, they have had quite a few injury issues to juggle. Heading into their game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Lakers were set to receive reinforcements with Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton making their return from injury.

Kobe Bryant News / Sneakers on SI / December 23

Kobe Bryant's Nike Slides Get 3 New Lakers Colorways

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant built one of the most popular basketball shoe lines of all time with Nike. Not only are Nike Kobe sneakers still the gold standard for performance basketball shoes, but the signature line is rapidly expanding in all directions.