While the Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of their 2024-25 season, the headlines in L.A. this week belonged largely to the Dodgers. After winning a World Series in 2024 and already making some marquee signings, they added Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki to their rotation, bring another star to a city that already has LeBron James and many other incredible athletes.
Sasaki joins a Dodgers team that has Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Japan. And like the other two, Sasaki made a trip to the Lakers game to meet LeBron and fellow Japanese star Rui Hachimura.
The Lakers welcomed Sasaki by having him meet LeBron and Hachimura, getting a standing ovation from the L.A. crowd and getting a customized Lakers jersey:
LeBron greets new LA Dodger pitcher Roki Sasaki before tip 🙌@Lakers x @Dodgers pic.twitter.com/DzYaXnFLyE
— NBA (@NBA) January 22, 2025
Rui Hachimura already teaching Roki Sasaki how to throw up the LA sign 🤣@DodgerBlue1958 pic.twitter.com/2XmqonVoPJ
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) January 22, 2025
Roki Sasaki got a big ovation from the #Lakers crowd.@DodgerBlue1958 pic.twitter.com/XyyqUPhUxl
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) January 22, 2025
Roki Sasaki received a No. 11 Lakers jersey tonight. pic.twitter.com/mpg7IvJLuZ
— Matthew Moreno (@Matthew__Moreno) January 22, 2025
Sasaki is expected to be a star in Major League Baseball, hence why the red carpet was rolled out for the flame-throwing starter. The Lakers have always been welcoming of Dodger players, as the two franchises have a shared respect as the premier L.A. teams.
The Dodgers did their job of winning a championship in 2024, and the Lakers are hopeful to hold up their end of things and make the necessary changes to try and win it all with LeBron at the helm.
Lakers less likely to go all-in via trade
As the NBA trade deadline approaches, it has become clear that the Lakers need to make more moves if they want to compete for a championship.
Rob Pelinka’s recent acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith was a good one, but the team has still be mostly mediocre in recent weeks. The Lakers currently sit in sixth in the West so are very much in the mix, which means one or two good trades could vault them into contender status.
LeBron said as much after the team’s recent loss to the L.A. Clippers, stating that they have no margin for error as currently constructed. James has never been shy to talk about when he feels his team needs to make a big move, especially around this time of year.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic though, that big move may not be coming before the deadline on Feb. 6.