The Los Angeles Lakers had a very successful regular season, winning 50 games for the first time since 2020 and clinching the No. 3 seed in a loaded Western Conference playoff field.
A lot of people were responsible for that success, whether it be the leadership of JJ Redick in his first year as a head coach, the clutch play of LeBron James and Luka Doncic, or the impressive leaps that Austin Reaves continues to take every year of his career.
With the Lakers having that team success, it was logical for those members of the organization to get some recognition for it. Redick’s name came up in Coach of the Year conversations, and James and Doncic were both named candidates for the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award. Additionally, Reaves was one of the betting favorites for a while in the mix for Most Improved Player, although Redick expressed his displeasure with what that award has become knowing his guy wan’t going to win it.
The NBA regular season awards finalists were announced on Sunday and despite all that went right for the Lakers, they did not have anyone that made the cut.
Complete list of awards finalists for the 2024-25 NBA regular season ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4bgbfQpohT
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 20, 2025
There weren’t any big surprises among this year’s finalists, with the MVP battle between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic perhaps being the most intriguing.
LeBron James expects Lakers to be more ready for Timberwolves’ physicality in Game 2
While awards are great, the Lakers’ current focus is on the postseason as they look to make a championship run. Things didn’t get off to a great start, however, as they were blown out at home by the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 on Saturday night.
The biggest difference between the two teams was that the Timberwolves were clearly more physical and made it a point to set the tone. With that being the case, LeBron James expects the team to be more ready for Minnesota’s physicality in an important Game 2.
“When you play the Minnesota team, you got to be physical. That’s what they bring to the table,” James said. “So maybe it took us one playoff game to now get a feel for the type of intensity, the type of physicality that’s going to be brought to the game, but that’s just the way they play. So we should be more than prepared for that on Tuesday night.”
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