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Lakers: Best and Worst of 2016

By Christian Rivas

April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) is hugged by team mates after scoring a basket against Utah Jazz during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) is hugged by team mates after scoring a basket against Utah Jazz during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brandon Ingram (Duke) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brandon Ingram (Duke) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The worst: Sitting through a 17-win season

Some notes on the Lakers’ franchise-worst 17-win season.

  • There are 82 games in an NBA season. In the 2015-16 season, the Lakers won 17 of those games.
  • By this time last year (Dec. 31), the Lakers had only won six games.
  • Kobe Bryant was the leading scorer on the team, averaging 17.6 points per game on 35.8 percent shooting from the field.
  • The starting lineup consisted of rookie D’Angelo Russell, sophomore stud Jordan Clarkson, 37-year-old Kobe Bryant, *rookie Julius Randle and the remains of Roy Hibbert.
  • Tarik Black and Nick Young had a tough time cracking the rotation, because Robert Sacre and Metta World Peace were just too good.
  • Ryan Kelly occasionally played small forward.
  • Byron Scott was the head coach.

Make sense? It should.

The best: Drafting Brandon Ingram

The 2016 draft class had very little hype surrounding it. Outside of Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram and a handful of streaky guards, the class of 2016 was pretty underwhelming. If there was a year to miss out on a draft, this year would have been it.

However, luck would have it that the lottery balls fell in the Lakers’ favor and the team ended up with the No. 2 pick in the draft. At that point, the decision was simple: take whoever Philadelphia doesn’t take.

Leading up to the draft, Ben Simmons was considered the consensus No. 1 pick, but with Philly’s frontcourt logjam, there was a chance they could have gone with a guard or a wing. Did they? Of course not. They’re the 76ers.

So with Simmons off the board, the Lakers decided to take the smooth, slim scorer out of Duke.

While it’s a little early in his career to make any real judgements, something tells me this kid is going to be the real deal.

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