The Los Angeles Lakers are one-tenth through the 2020-21 season.
It is crazy to think about but the Los Angeles Lakers are already 10% complete with the 2020-21 season (well, for the math nerds like myself out there, they are actually 9.72% through the season).
Nonetheless, the Lakers are essentially a tenth of the way through the 2020-21 season in what is being dubbed as their title defense season. LeBron James is looking for championship no. 5, which would tie Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers are looking to break the tie with the Boston Celtics for the most championships in league history.
Seven games is a minuscule sample size, but it still is telling for the rest of the season. These games still matter, it just is not wise to expect the other 65 games to go exactly how the first seven did.
I did some digging and found seven intriguing facts (three offense, three defense and one historical) that showcase that the Lakers are the real deal and the best team in the league, even if they lost to the Clippers and Trail Blazers.
Los Angeles Lakers miscellaneous stat: History indicates great things are coming after a 5-2 start
In the history of the Lakers’ franchise, there have been 12 teams previously to start the season with a 5-2 record. With how long the Lakers have played basketball, I was surprised to see that there was not more.
Ironically enough, the 5-2 record seems to be a really good omen for the Lakers’ success in that season. Not a single 5-2 Lakers team missed the playoffs (that is pretty obvious), but the success goes much deeper than that.
Ten of the 12 5-2 Lakers teams made it to the NBA Finals. The only two teams that didn’t were the 1996-97 Lakers (who lost in round two) and the 1973-74 Lakers (lost in round one). Four of those 10 teams to make the NBA Finals ended up winning it all.
That may not seem like a great ratio, but it is pretty remarkable that 33% of the time the Lakers started 5-2 they won the Finals and 83% of the time they at least made it there.
You could say the Lakers are due as well, as only one of the last five Lakers teams to go 5-2 won the NBA Championship, meaning that a 2021 title would be two out of the last six — or 33%.