The Los Angeles Lakers have gone all-in on playing through their stars. It's a strategy that, on the surface, is no different from a vast majority of NBA franchises. Los Angeles has left no margin for error, however, by effectively embracing a star or bust approach.
The results have been promising on the surface, with the Lakers ranking seventh in the NBA in offensive rating, but there are subtle flaws that could derail their season.
Los Angeles has made Luka Doncic its franchise player, which comes with some degree of inevitable concessions on offense. Doncic is the epitome of high volume, ranking No. 1 in the NBA in usage rate in 2025-26—much as he did in 2023-24.
In fact, Doncic has ranked no lower than No. 3 in the NBA in usage rate in every season but one since 2019-20.
Austin Reaves emerged as a legitimate co-star early in the 2025-26 campaign by proving capable of shouldering a large workload and producing elite numbers alongside Doncic. LeBron James' track record speaks for itself in the same type of role.
Though it's thus logical to allow three of the best shot creating and playmaking perimeter players in the NBA to play to their strengths, the Lakers' weaknesses are becoming harder to ignore.
Lakers rank No. 7 in offensive rating, but their flaws are unavoidable
Los Angeles currently ranks No. 26 in secondary assists, No. 27 in passes made, and No. 28 in assist points created. In addition to struggling to move the ball with consistency or efficiency, the Lakers are allowing the fifth-most points via turnovers per game.
That recipe for disaster becomes even less palatable when factoring in that the Lakers rank No. 23 in three-point field goal percentage and dead last in bench points per game.
Each of those numbers reflects how star-centric the offense has become. Though the talent at the top of the rotation certainly justifies a heavy investment in their usage and output, it also puts pressure on the stars to border on perfect on any given night.
Considering each of Doncic, James, and Reaves come with concerns about their defensive output, it also means they need to create an offensive miracle to compete with the top teams.
The highs and lows have displayed exactly what Lakers fans can expect from this formula. They have 12 wins by double figures at this stage of the season, but have also lost 15 games by 10-plus points—nearly twice as many as any other Western Conference team on pace to make the playoffs.
Los Angeles is also 10-11 against teams that have a record at or above .500. By comparison, each of the top four teams in the Western Conference are 14-12 or better.
Perhaps a healthy rotation will, in fact, cure all woes and position the Lakers to realize their championship ambitions. The game they're playing is dangerous, however, as their defensive woes actually mask the fact that their offense isn't quite as strong as it seems.
Doncic and James have led deep postseason runs on multiple occasions, but the Lakers are overburdening their stars and risking disaster.