The Los Angeles Lakers have completed their best regular season since 2019-20. At 50-32, the Lakers put together their first 50-win season since that title-winning campaign and just their second since 2010-11.
First-year head coach JJ Redick deserves all of the praise imaginable for proving his skeptics wrong, but questions still remain about how the postseason will realistically play out.
Los Angeles will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in a series that will be as star-studded as any in the first round. 2024 scoring champion Luka Doncic and four-time MVP LeBron James will lead the Lakers against 2024 All-NBA honoree Anthony Edwards, four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, two-time All-NBA selectee Julius Randle, and a red-hot Timberwolves team.
Minnesota won 17 of its last 21 games during the regular season, with all three of its All-NBA players turning in some of their best performances of the year.
If the Lakers are going to overcome the surging Timberwolves, then three burning questions will need to be answered. Said responses will go a long way toward determining if Los Angeles can adequately support Doncic and James in their efforts to lead the Lakers to the second round.
Those questions begin with one that could come to define Los Angeles' grand aspirations: Can Jaxson Hayes measure up against centers of Gobert's caliber?
3. Is Jaxson Hayes a sufficient option at center?
Hayes entered the 2024-25 regular season as something of an afterthought in NBA circles. Skeptics were more critical of his inability to tap into his lottery-pick potential than they were willing to consider his remaining upside.
Against all odds, Hayes has become one of the most important players on the Lakers—and it's not exclusively because there are no other proven options at center.
Hayes finished the 2024-25 season averaging 6.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 offensive boards, 1.0 assist, 0.9 blocks, and 0.6 steals in just 19.5 minutes per game. Those numbers translate to 12.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.6 offensive boards, 1.9 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.0 steal per 36 minutes.
Even more impressive is the fact that the Lakers allowed 4.2 fewer points per 100 possessions with Hayes on the court than when he wasn't.
For as intriguing as that may be, the Lakers will face Gobert in the first round and could go up against All-Star center Alperen Sengun in the second. For what it's worth: Gobert is entering the playoffs in remarkable form, averaging 18.5 points and 14.5 rebounds over his past 11 games—during which time Minnesota went 9-2.
If Hayes can't at least hold the line and keep Gobert and Randle away from the offensive glass, then the Lakers' postseason dreams may become a nightmare.
2. Should the Lakers trade Rui Hachimura this summer?
This could be considered the most important question the Lakers are going to have answered during the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Hachimura will be entering the final season of his team-friendly contract in 2025-26, and a decision will need to be made about his place in the team's plans for the future.
Hachimura turned in an excellent regular season, but the Lakers need to see if the value he provides can translate to the playoffs.
Hachimura became a source of infectious energy in 2024-25, providing unquestioned effort on both ends of the floor. He responded well to the way Redick challenged him and became a true 3-and-D forward with the added benefit of offering production on the offensive glass.
Hachimura finished the regular season with averages of 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 offensive boards, 1.4 assists, and 1.7 three-point field goals made on .509/.413/.770 shooting.
Furthermore, Hachimura averaged 17.9 points per game in the 11 outings leading up to the injury he sustained in late February. It's taken time for him to get back to 100 percent, but Los Angeles is optimistic that he's there—and the 16 points he scored against Houston in his regular-season finale offers reason to believe he is.
Owed an expiring $18,259,259 for the 2025-26 season, however, Hachimura will need to prove that he's more valuable on the court during the playoffs than on the trading block in the offseason.
1. Is Austin Reaves a true franchise cornerstone?
If the regular season is a sign of things to come, then Doncic and Austin Reaves are the Lakers' backcourt of the future. Doncic has already proven capable of sharing a high-volume backcourt with a high-level talent, reaching the Conference Finals with Jalen Brunson and the NBA Finals with Kyrie Irving.
It's far too soon to compare Reaves to All-NBA players such as Brunson or Irving, but the 2025 postseason will go a long way toward determining if he truly is a franchise cornerstone.
Reaves is coming off of the most productive regular season of his four-year NBA career thus far. He posted career-best averages of 20.2 points, 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.7 three-point field goals made per game on .460/.377/.877 shooting.
Reaves tallied a 45-point eruption, 10 games with at least 30 points, 36 with 20-plus, and nine with at least 10 assists—accurate depictions of his progressive development into an offensive dynamo.
The postseason is an entirely different challenge, however, and Reaves will now face the expectations of a star-caliber player. Doncic and James will shoulder most of the blame and praise, but this will be the first time in his career that Reaves enters the playoffs with viewers expecting an All-Star level of play.
If Reaves delivers, then the Lakers can confidently move forward with their backcourt of the future. If he comes up short, however, Los Angeles' hope to appease Doncic could create uncomfortable conversations.