The Athletic released its annual anonymous NBA player poll, and as always, the Los Angeles Lakers were represented in various categories.
In this survey, The Athletic interview hundreds of players, who were granted anonymity for their candor on a variety of topics.
The first question was about this year’s NBA MVP, and as could be expected, Shai Gilegous-Alexander led the way with Nikola Jokic right behind him. Lakers star LeBron James was in the mix as well as he finished fifth with 1.3% of the vote, which is not bad for a 40-year-old in his 22nd season. James also received 2.2% of the votes in the most overrated player category, however.
Who will win the NBA Championship this year was the next category, and the Lakers received 6.6% of the vote, good for fourth behind the Boston Celtics (57.7%), Oklahoma City Thunder (17.5%) and Cleveland Cavaliers (10.2%).
The Lakers also fared well in the league’s best organization category, coming in sixth at 5.1% behind the Golden State Warriors (21.9%), Thunder (17.5%), Celtics (15.3%), L.A. Clippers (8.8%) and Miami Heat (5.8%).
A big topic of conversation this season is who will be the face of league after James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are retired. The players were asked about that and current Lakers star Luka Doncic received 2.9% of the votes, although Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs led the way at 54.3%.
And finally, JJ Redick got some love in the category for best coach. He came in 10th with 2.7% of the vote, receiving some recognition after winning 50 games in his first season at the helm for the Lakers. If he continues on this trajectory, it’s reasonable to think Redick will be higher on this list in future years.
Lakers star LeBron James lives for playoff basketball
At this stage of his career, Lakers star LeBron James let it be known that he only cares about playoff basketball and the pursuit of a fifth championship.
“Listen, at this point in my career, the regular season is fun and cool, but I only care about the playoffs. I’m all about the process and I will always be about the process to get to this point. But if you have a chance to win it and you know you have a team that has a chance, it doesn’t always result into winning but if you have a chance and you know you have a fighting chance of walking into this ring and say ‘We can beat anyone. We can beat anyone.’ We know we have to play close to perfect basketball, obviously we know that and it takes a lot of luck in the postseason, we understand that, but when it comes to playoff basketball, it’s definitely a drug. For sure.”
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