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Magic Johnson explains where Lakers went wrong against Timberwolves

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated May 1, 2025 10:26 AM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers saw their season end on Wednesday at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Magic Johnson knows where they went wrong.

The Lakers lost 103-96 to Minnesota on Wednesday in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, falling to the Timberwolves in five games. Johnson congratulated the Timberwolves on their victory on X, but was sharply critical of the Lakers’ effort on defense, and pointed out a significant roster flaw.

“The reason the Lakers lost was because they played awful on defense, they were too small, and the Timberwolves dominated them in the paint,” Johnson wrote on X.

Congratulations to my good friend Minnesota Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, superstar Anthony Edwards and the entire Minnesota Timberwolves team for beating my Lakers and advancing to the next round. The reason the Lakers lost was because they played awful on defense, they…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 1, 2025

The size argument became particularly relevant after Rudy Gobert dominated the Lakers to the tune of 27 points and 24 rebounds in the decisive Game 5. The Lakers had no one who could match up with his size, and while nobody is going to have any regrets over the Luka Doncic trade, it did illustrate how important Anthony Davis was to the team.

One has to wonder if things might have been different for the Lakers if they had gone through with the failed Mark Williams trade. Based on his social media activity, Williams certainly seemed to think so.

Addressing the Lakers’ hole at center and subsequent size deficiency will be a top priority this offseason. The pieces are there for a championship team, but that shortcoming was too much for them to overcome this time.

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

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