The Los Angeles Lakers are entering a new era. LeBron James has left the roster,, and Luka Doncic will now lead the team. Typically, rosters go through a gap year to determine their identity before becoming NBA championship contenders. JJ Redick doesn’t believe they will need to go through any sort of transitionary period. The Lakers head coach fully knows that they are more than capable of grabbing the Larry O’Brien trophy in just Walker Kessler’s first year.
Where does all of Coach Redick’s belief come from?
Redick boldly believes the Lakers are NBA championship contenders
A lot of steps are necessary before a team becomes an NBA championship contender. They have to figure out what roles each player will carry out as well as the schemes necessary to beat out the other title hopefuls. All of these typically take years. Coach JJ Redick does not pander nor even look at the league that way. The Lakers head coach argues that Luka Doncic, Walker Kessler, and their other pieces are enough to tie the Boston Celtics in the all-time championship race.
Coach Redick even believes that the 2026-27 NBA season is when they have a great shot at winning the Larry O’Brien trophy, via Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“I’m confident we’re gonna develop as a team into a championship-level team — this year,” the Lakers head coach declared.
The Lakers had a ton of holes to fix this offseason. The biggest is how they’ll replace the production LeBron James provided. After that, they also had to address the gaping hole left by Jaxson Hayes, Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton, and Luke Kennard, among others. Furthermore, the squad has a glaring rebounding issue, as shown by their 22nd-ranked 23.9 ORB% and 13th-ranked 74% DRB%.
Some might think that Redick is speaking from a place of deluded confidence. When keener eyes are used, it’s easier to understand that the Lakers are capable of actually backing up the claim. Kessler seems like a panacea to all of this. He can fill the defensive and rebounding holes that were left by their departures. Prior to getting injured in the 2025-26 NBA season, he led the league with his 16.6 ORB%. He also had a career-high 9.2 BLK% at one point that can anchor Coach Redick’s defense.
Doncic will obviously be the center of the Lakers’ heliocentric offense. He gets active playmakers, not just shooters, to add offensive variance. This comes in the form of their new additions: Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Quentin Grimes. Defensively, it seems like they have the bench covered too. Matisse Thybulle and Kevon Looney have all proven to be playoff risers on that end of the court.
All holes seem to be filled for the Lakers. So, it might not be such a bad thing for Coach Redick to claim that he, Doncic, and Kessler have what it takes to finally snag the franchise’s 18th Larry O’Brien trophy.
