NBA
Superstar LeBron James, plus illustrious names like Davis, Anthony and Westbrook. The Los Angeles Lakers were supposed to be a title team but failed miserably.
Photo: Rick Scuteri / AP / dpa
A few days ago, basketball superstar LeBron James made an April Fool’s joke. “I’m out for the rest of the season. See you in the fall,” James wrote on Twitter.
A few hours later, at the age of 37, he dragged his limbs back onto the floor and saw his Los Angeles Lakers lose once more. The season, which started with a title goal, has become a sporting disaster for the traditional club from California, the Lakers, eleventh in the Western Conference, will not even take part in the qualifying tournament for the playoffs.
“Some things we might control, some we mightn’t. There are no excuses, we just didn’t make it,” said veteran Carmelo Anthony following the 110:121 at the Phoenix Suns, which was not only the seventh loss in a row, but also meant the final end of the playoffs.
The team didn’t work
James’ April Fool’s joke has come true, he won’t play a role in the best basketball league in the world until the fall. He will have to watch as European stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) or the extremely strong Phoenix Suns make up the NBA trophy among themselves. With the long-awaited fifth ring, with which the exceptional talent wanted to collect further arguments in the ongoing debate Michael Jordan vs. James, nothing will come of it.
“We are extremely disappointed,” said head coach Frank Vogel, who should have no future at the glamor club following such a season. The team with star player James, the veterans Anthony, Russell Westbrook and Dwight Howard and co-star Anthony Davis looked extremely promising. But adverse circumstances made things difficult for the Lakers. Davis was injured for a long time, and James also had physical problems once more and once more. The team also didn’t work, neither offensively nor defensively.
James’ record is split
James experienced the final knockout from an ankle injury on the sidelines. He wore a casual t-shirt, gold chain and sunglasses. It’s emblematic of a season when nothing worked out and some supporters were already accusing James of playing for the scoring title rather than a winning Lakers result. James’ Los Angeles record is split: the club missed the playoffs in 2019 and 2022, and in 2021 they lost in the first round. But in 2020 it was enough for the title, led by James and Davis.
“We look really good on paper,” Davis said earlier this week of this year’s roster. “But we didn’t have a chance to show that.” The fact that rather mediocre teams like the New Orleans Pelicans or the San Antonio Spurs instead of the Lakers are playing for more tickets for the final round in the so-called playin tournament must be particularly painful for the James team .
But the Lakers had nothing more to add in the crucial phase of the season. “This year we’ve had more varied starting lineups than wins,” Davis said soberly. Ending his career is not yet an issue for James, who has won at least one title at his stations in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles. He wants to stay in the NBA until his 17-year-old son Bronny comes into the league and has a season as a father-son team.
