Training camp for the Los Angeles Lakers begins on Monday with media day, and everyone, from management to fans, is filled with a quiet but tangible optimism for the upcoming season.
The Lakers miraculously revamped their roster midway through last season, and it resulted in them going from a mediocre squad to one that had legitimate championship aspirations. Despite having to build chemistry on the fly with newcomers such as Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt, they reached the Western Conference Finals where they got swept by the Denver Nuggets.
Buy Lakers TicketsPerhaps the only real concern surrounding the team going into the 2023-24 campaign is the health of LeBron James. The 38-year-old superstar injured his right foot in late February, forcing him to miss a month of action. After he returned, he was visibly limited in terms of his explosiveness.
But according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers feel good about the health of both James and Anthony Davis. In addition, he mentioned Davis’ jump shot is looking potent, something Austin Reaves recently said as well (h/t Lakers Daily).
“Well healthwise, both LeBron and A.D., the team feels really good about,” Dave McMenamin said. “Now, the players on the Lakers organized a minicamp in San Diego last weekend. All the players on the roster were in attendance, and the buzz — the thing that people were talking about — was how well Anthony Davis’ jump shot looked.”
Since coming to the Lakers five years ago, James has apparently become injury-prone. He has played in more than 56 games in a season just once with them, and many feel his minutes and workload need to be significantly trimmed in order to keep him healthy moving forward.
McMenamin: James has revamped energy
Following the Lakers’ sweep in the Western Conference Finals, James hinted that he was considering retirement. Virtually no one took him seriously, and indeed, he announced in July during the ESPY Awards that he would return for a 21st NBA season.
Then came the health scare for his son Bronny during an early workout with the University of Southern California. But McMenamin says the elder James feels refreshed.
“The term that was used when I asked about how LeBron’s feeling going into this year was ‘revamped energy,’ a source close to LeBron told me,” said McMenamin. “And you think about this summer, his top priority was getting medical care and attention, seeking out specialists for his son Bronny, who had that heart ailment affect him at his early practice with USC. But as part of that, while LeBron was traveling along with Bronny, he was finding gyms. And I’m told that he started before the sun came up, was his regular routine, and in the weeks leading up to training camp opening up next week, he’s been doing two-a-day practices.”
The elder James has every reason to feel refreshed, as the Lakers have a legitimate shot at getting him his fifth championship ring this season.
