Rewind the 2025-26 regular season by not much time at all and the Los Angeles Lakers were looking somewhat hopeless. Their record and place in the standings seemed painfully misleading, as the Lakers were well below even against .500 or better teams and on the wrong end of far too many blowouts.
Perhaps time was all they needed to right the ship, as the present-day version of the Lakers is suddenly a resilient, competitive, and genuinely "good" basketball team.
In mid-January, the Lakers were 24-15, but 14 of their losses were by at least 10 points. They were the only top-six team in the Western Conference with even 10 losses by double digits up to that point in the season and this very writer thus foolishly declared "they're not contenders."
Though the Lakers lost on Mon., Jan. 24 to the Detroit Pistons, they went from trailing by 13 points after an ugly first half to locking in on defense and ultimately falling by just three points.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, Lakers head coach JJ Redick believes it's a product of how the team has learned to bend instead of breaking in the face of adversity.
“The growth we’ve had with being able to bend but not break — tonight was another example of that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Really, really sharp and good defensively for three quarters. Second quarter, not so much. … But we did a good job of defending. We did a good job of just staying with it and got back in the game.”
Moral victories aren't everyone's cup of tea, but Los Angeles fought tooth and nail in the fifth game of their current six-game road trip. It was the type of resilient basketball the Lakers simply weren't playing earlier in the season.
Compounded by the fact that the Lakers are now racking up wins against above-.500 teams, there's suddenly reason to believe in the legitimacy of this group.
Lakers erasing flaws, showing resilience in face of adversity
Prior to Mar. 6, the Lakers were 14-20 against teams with a record of .500 or better. Since then, the Lakers have gone 7-1 against such opponents, defeating the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets twice in a row, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic.
The loss to Detroit unavoidably stings, but considering it was Los Angeles' fifth road game in a week and they won the previous four, it's far more palatable than previous defeats.
The Lakers aren't just beating up on bad teams or fringe postseason contenders and calling it a day. Denver, Houston, and Minnesota are all competing with Los Angeles for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and Miami and Orlando are four and five games clear of .500, respectively.
Though it's irrational to completely discredit a full season of results due to a mere three weeks of improved play, the Lakers are fixing their flaws at the perfect time.
With a clear focus on not allowing early deficits to defeat them, Los Angeles is playing full four-quarter basketball. With signature wins over fellow contenders and postseason hopefuls, the Lakers are also proving to themselves and others that they can win the big games.
Despite previously providing evidence to the contrary, the Lakers are finally looking like the true contender even fans were unwilling to confidently endorse them as.