The Los Angeles Lakers have their sights set on winning a championship in 2024. LeBron James and Anthony Davis led them to the conference finals last season and hope to go further with more continuity. The Lakers will have to shine in the playoffs and may need another shooter to round out their roster.
Putting shooting and defense around King James has been a winning strategy for his two decades in the league. The Lakers finished 25th in 3-point percentage last season, but they improved to 15th after the trade deadline. That is when they jettisoned Russell Westbrook and began to make their run. The team’s shooting woes are worth monitoring but should improve over the full season.
The Lakers added a couple of key shooters this summer, but who are the best marksmen on their roster? It was a difficult call to round out the top five with Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, and Gabe Vince just missing out.
5. LeBron James
James is not known as a sharpshooter, but he led the Lakers in 3-pointers made last season with 121. He had 14 more than second place and 35 more than Austin Reaves, despite the 25-year-old playing nine more games. Reaves came on throughout the season, and fans should not expect LBJ to lead the team again in 2024.
James shot just 32.1 percent from 3-point range, which was significantly below the 36.1 percent league average rate. For his career, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer has made 34.5 percent, which is impressive considering teams sell out to stop him.
LeBron will take and make a lot of 3-pointers this season. He is one of the team’s best shooters on volume alone. When King James is knocking down his jumpers, the Los Angeles Lakers are difficult to defeat.