Every year the good folks at ESPN come out with their Ultimate Standings list, a ranking of every team in the four major North American sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). In recent years the Lakers have begun to slide down the rankings and that continued this year.
In the 2016 edition of ESPN’s Ultimate Standings, the Lakers came in at 109th overall out of 122 teams and 26th among the 30 NBA teams. Baxter Holmes had this to say about the state of the franchise:
“Coming off their worst season in franchise history and after missing the playoffs three straight seasons, is it any wonder the rebuilding Lakers continue their Ultimate Standings slide? The (somewhat) bright side: Kobe Bryant and Byron Scott are out, which gives Luke Walton and the Lakers’ kids a chance to start anew.”
Overall the Lakers were fell eight spots from last season and there were very few categories in which the Lakers ranked outside of the lowest levels. The team ranked 29th in the ‘Title Track’ category which measures championships won or expected. They also ranked 72nd in coaching and 73rd in ownership, but that is where it ends.
The Lakers ranked 109th in players on the roster, 112th in fan relations, 116th in affordability, and 120th in ‘Bang for the Buck.’ Unfortunately for the Lakers, their lack of recent wins, the retirement of Kobe Bryant, and their high ticket prices combine to hurt them in these rankings.
At the end of the day, these are just arbitrary rankings that are fun for people to read and look into. The Lakers do have a ton of young talent and as they develop and wins start to come back to this franchise, the Lakers will undoubtedly begin to climb back up.