The Los Angeles Lakers have no reason to hang their heads after suffering a season-ending loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Despite playing without their best player, Luka Doncic, the Lakers stunned the Houston Rockets in the first round before competing tooth-and-nail against the reigning NBA champions in the Western Conference semifinals. While the final series score read 4-0, the Lakers led at halftime in Games 2 and 3, and took an 84-80 lead into the fourth quarter in Game 4 and had multiple chances to win down the stretch.
The Lakers issued a fitting three-word statement after their elimination.
“Battled all season,” wrote the Lakers on their X account, capturing the sentiments of Lakers fans who were thrilled to watch a competitive outfit under head coach JJ Redick.
The Lakers also sent out a heartfelt message to their fanbase.
“To the best fans — thank you 💜,” wrote the Purple & Gold franchise.
Lakers ‘Proud’ of their Season
Luka Doncic echoed those sentiments in his exit news conference on Tuesday, explaining why his team had a great season despite the 4-0 loss to the Thunder.
“This season obviously didn’t end how we wanted,” Doncic said Monday, via The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
“But I feel like the last push we made in the end of the regular season, we thought we were gonna compete for a championship. I think we had a great team, we had great chemistry, and obviously playing with AR and Bron, it’s an unbelievable experience. They are two great players and it was really fun to share the court with them.”
Further to Doncic’s point, the Lakers went 15-2 in March to climb to the third seed after flirting with the play-in scenario in the first four months of the season. Many felt they were primed for a deep playoff run until the untimely injuries of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves derailed their chances of competing with the West’s powerhouses.
Lakers Face Major Offseason
The Lakers will one of their busiest teams in the NBA this offseason, as they deal with the free agency of key players like LeBron James (UFA), Austin Reaves (Player Option), Rui Hachimura (UFA), Luke Kennard (UFA), Jaxon Hayes (UFA), Deandre Ayton (Player Option) and Marcus Smart (Player Option).
If the Lakers let all their free agents walk — an unlikely scenario — they could have over $60M in cap space, per ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks.
LeBron – UFA Hachimura – UFA Kennard – UFA Hayes – UFA Kleber – UFA Reaves – Player option Ayton – Player option Smart – Player option
If the Lakers pay Reaves max dollars, they will still have potentially nearly $50M in cap space, and that’s even after factoring in AR’s reported $20.9M cap hold. Per multiple insiders, the Lakers will pursue restricted free agents like Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson and Tari Eason, and veterans like Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson, Daniel Gafford and Jarrett Allen, as they strive to add 3&D wings and athletic bigs.
For what it’s worth, the Lakers stressed on Tuesday that they intend to bring back both LeBron James and Austin Reaves, keeping their Big 3 with Luka Doncic intact.
“We want that core to be back together,” Redick said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“All three of those guys showed a lot of growth this year,” he added.
Lakers Issue 3-Word Statement After Season-Ending Loss