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Historic Lakers Development Emerges on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Ishaan Bhattacharya | Last updated Nov 5, 2025 2:23 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a great start to the 25-26 NBA season. With LeBron James yet to make his season debut and Luka Doncic playing in just four out of the team's eight games so far, the franchise has a 6-2 record, good enough for the No. 2 seed in the West. Coach JJ Redick has employed his eclectic rotational cast in a 'next man up' way, as players are consistently filling in rotational holes as injuries keep the lineups changing.

With the franchise facing Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs later today, they'll be hoping for another strong performance despite multiple names not being available. A combination of their injury problems, Redick's coaching, and the team's recent offensive success has led to them making history early in the season.

Over the course of back-to-back games against the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers became the first-ever team to have six different players log 25 points or more in consecutive games.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst revealed this fact on the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast.

"The Lakers had six different players score at least 25 points . Including a two-way guy, Nick Smith Jr. By the way, that has never happened before in NBA history. In two games, six different players. 25 is a lot of points, even by today's standards."

In the 130-120 win over the Heat on Sunday, Luka Doncic (29 points), Austin Reaves (26 points) and Jake LaRavia (25 points) led the charge. They had to suit up the next night against the Blazers without Doncic and Reaves, prompting Deandre Ayton (29 points), Rui Hachimura (28 points) and Nick Smith Jr. (25 points) to step up in the 123-115 win.

The consistency in offensive production shows Redick's fast-paced offensive style, which focuses on maximizing perimeter productivity, is bearing fruit for the Lakers this season. They have a 119.0 offensive rating, sixth in the NBA so far.

All of this has happened without LeBron James playing a single minute this season. Upon his return, his offensive responsibilities will likely be reduced compared to past seasons due to his age, injuries and the success of Doncic and Reaves this season. Nonetheless, it's hard to imagine how he wouldn't be a perfect fit in the frontcourt with his high IQ, competent jumpshot, and ability to drive and draw defenders to himself.

If the Lakers' start can be sustained until LeBron's return and somehow enhanced by the addition of the 41-year-old, the franchise can be a credible title challenger this season. They'll hope to keep their good run of form going against the San Antonio Spurs tonight on ESPN at 10 p.m. (ET).

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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