The Los Angeles Lakers have one of the best records in the NBA, but that isn’t getting them title contending respect to all pundits. NBA insider Kevin O’Connor gave his full league ranking of the top NBA Championship contenders via his power rankings. The longtime media personality revealed that he believes eight teams are legit contenders.
O’Connor’s Yahoo power rankings listed these teams as the real title contenders:
1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Philadelphia 76ers
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. New York Knicks
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Boston Celtics
7. Detroit Pistons
8. Houston Rockets
The Lakers were ranked next as ninth, but O’Connor named that tier as the falling contenders lower than the real contenders. Other teams like the Miami Heat and Denver were paired with the Lakers as teams with title dreams that are below the superior teams in the tier above them.
Luka Doncic was praised for his elite play, but the power ranking made it clear that O’Connor doesn’t buy the Lakers seriously. The weak schedule so far gives the Lakers a strong record, but there is a belief that they will fall off once facing the tougher teams in the Western Conference.
Why Pundit Thinks Los Angeles Lakers Are Pretenders
O’Connor went deeper about the Lakers and why he feels they should be ranked below teams like the Rockets and Pistons. Some fans would also argue the Timberwolves should be marked negatively for spending months without Anthony Edwards to harm their seeding chances.
The following quote revealed what exactly O’Connor believes about the Lakers:
“Look at Austin Reaves‘ stat line on paper, and you’ll like what you see. He’s averaging 23.1 points on 66.9% true shooting. But the Lakers are posting a dismal offensive rating of just 100 in the minutes Reaves is on the floor without Luka Dončić. That’s down from 137.7 with both Reaves and Dončić and 112 with just Dončić.
The big question coming into this season was about whether the Lakers could survive defensively. They can’t also have issues with their offense when their best player isn’t on the floor. It needs to be resolved, or they may prove to not even be a fringe contender.”
Reaves was named as a huge flaw by O’Connor when questioning the Lakers team. The quote ended with him claiming they may not even be a secondary fringe contender. Walker Kessler was not even named by O’Connor as a difference maker.
Lakers Must Get High Seed To Prove Critics Wrong
The Lakers’ only path towards contending for a title is to keep winning games. Injuries to names like Edwards, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren mean that the top West seeds are wide open for the Lakers.
San Antonio and Houston are the only teams above the Lakers on paper, and the Rockets got eliminated by the Lakers just last season. Losing LeBron James meant the Lakers would be making huge changes to the roster that not all pundits believe in.
However, Doncic had a lot of input to add talents like Kessler, Quentin Grimes, and various role players. Luka believes he can win a title with this team, and a high seed for home court advantage is needed, especially since other teams have injury-riddled rosters already.
NBA Insider Snubs Lakers From Top 8 NBA Title Contenders