LeBron James is a man on a mission this year. Following last season’s disappointing first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, the 36-year-old has seemingly dedicated himself to making the most out of each remaining season in his career.
The first step was James working on himself. His incredible offseason body transformation is a testament to that.
Step two was facilitating the development of chemistry between him and his teammates — something that Lakers players admitted was an issue last year.
This past week, James organized a secret three-day minicamp for himself and his bevy of new teammates. The event was supposed to be kept under wraps, but footage of it leaked.
The fact that the video has nearly half a million views after being up for a day speaks to the anticipation that has built for what the Lakers will look like next year.
This offseason has been filled with some very exciting L.A. arrivals and some extremely messy divorces with beloved players. Because of that, it’ll be very interesting to see how the final product ultimately looks on the court in 2021-22.
Age has obviously been a big topic of concern. Russell Westbrook is 32 years old. He is linking up with James, 36, as two-thirds of the Lakers’ Big Three. From there, the team went out and added Carmelo Anthony, 37, Trevor Ariza, 36, Dwight Howard, 35, Rajon Rondo, 35, Wayne Ellington, 33, and Kent Bazemore, 32.
With an older roster comes a higher likelihood of injuries, but also the added boost of veteran-laden experience.
As things currently stand, the Lakers are viewed as the favorite to emerge from the Western Conference next season and compete for a title against the Brooklyn Nets. Will they be able to live up to expectations? Time will tell.
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