The Lakers moved to 23-11 on the season with Tuesday night’s narrow win over the Pelicans. It’s been a somewhat rocky stretch of late for Los Angeles as concerns about the roster’s defensive abilities mount and JJ Redick’s frustrations have been made public. But the team remains in good position in the West—and are showing, at the very least, they are more than capable of winning close games down the stretch.
After last night’s victory in New Orleans the Lakers are now 13-0 in “clutch” games this season, defined by the NBA as games where the score is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining. It marks the second-longest streak of clutch wins to begin a season in the play-by-play era behind only the legendary 2015-16 Warriors, who went 14-0 in clutch situations en route to a 73-9 finish.
After tonight's win, the Los Angeles Lakers are 13-0 in clutch games so far this season!
— NBA (@NBA) January 7, 2026
That's the second longest streak to open a season in the play-by-play era (1997-98) 🚨
The longest?
The Golden State Warriors in 2015-16 (14-0). pic.twitter.com/aaZ6XN49sG
Per the NBA’s stat page, the Lakers have played 30 clutch minutes so far this season. In those minutes they shoot 52.8% from the floor and 40.9% from three. It will come as no surprise to learn that LeBron James has been L.A.’s best player in the clutch, leading the Lakers with 23 points scored on 72.7% shooting; Luka Dončić checks in just behind him with 18 points scored in the clutch.
While there is a certain luck factor that comes into play when the score is that close it’s not shocking the Lakers are among the best at executing when the game is on the line. James is one of the most clutch players in the history of the league and there’s no end-game situation he hasn’t seen before. Dončić boasts a well-earned reputation of his own for stepping up when the lights are brightest. Put both of them together and they become very difficult to stop in tight games.
It helps that Los Angeles isn’t quite good enough to blow teams out of the water over the course of 48 minutes every night and thus find themselves in clutch situations more often than, say, the Thunder. That is unlikely to change so the Lakers will definitely have a shot at tying or even surpassing those Warriors for the best clutch record to start the NBA season in modern history.
Something fun to keep an eye on as the basketball season marches on.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lakers One Win Away From Matching Historic Warriors Team With Latest Clutch Victory.
