With LeBron James About To Turn 38, The Lakers Are Trending Toward The Lottery

LeBron James turns 38 on Friday and he is still defying time and playing like one of the best players in the world.

James is averaging 27.8 points per game — ninth-best in the NBA — along with 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists. In a Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers’ fourth straight, James went for 38 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Yet his team is 13-20 and trending toward the NBA Draft Lottery. The Athletic ran a headline suggesting the “Lakers are wasting LeBron James’ greatness and loss on Christmas is another reminder.”

After saying in the summer he planned to be the “caretaker of LeBron’s legacy,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka has failed to surround James with shooters and complementary players capable of winning.

The Lakers rank 26th out of 30 teams in 3-point shooting at 33.5%.

Anthony Davis, who has only played 60+ games once in the last four seasons, is hurt again. He’s out indefinitely with a “stress injury” his right foot that came after he played 46 minutes in an overtime loss to the Celtics on Dec. 13.

The acquisition of Russell Westbrook doesn’t look like the greatest fit — he’s shooting 28% from deep — even though James was reportedly a “significant proponent” of the Lakers’ adding him.

A trade using future draft picks to bolster shooting doesn’t seem imminent, either, as the Lakers front office “doesn’t want to compound its previous mistakes with more win-now moves,” per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha,

Buha noted that Pelinka and the Los Angeles brain trust “are still evaluating their options on a dormant trade market,” but at some point they may be forced into action. Whatever form that might take.

Before the NBA season began, the Lakers were tied for the ninth favorite to win the NBA championship and the over/under on their win total was 44.5.

For the Lakers to get to 44 wins at this point, they would have to go 31-18 the rest of the way — and nobody thinks that’s likely, barring a dramatic turnaround.

In another universe, that might provide a glimmer of hope for Lakers fans dreaming of tanking for 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama, the French superstar who is the presumed No. 1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft.

The problem is that the New Orleans Pelicans control the Lakers’ next three first-round draft picks from the Davis trade that helped the Lakers win the 2020 championship. In the 2023 draft, the Pelicans can swap first-round picks with the Lakers. And considering Wembanyama has been called the “single greatest prospect in NBA history” by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, New Orleans will take it.

Meantime, the clock is ticking and LeBron is about to celebrate his 38th birthday with a losing record.