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The post-mortem of the LA Lakers’ disappointing season continued for months. What started as a potentially great season for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook ended far from it. On “The Athletic’s NBA Show,” team governor Jeanie Buss shared her thoughts on the Lakers season.
“We’re all judged by wins and losses and last season was a huge disappointment. If you look back exactly a year ago, there was a lot of media who predicted us at the top and we didn’t live up to that expectation. And it was hugely disappointing because you can’t possibly contend for a championship if you’re not even in the playoffs.”
The 2021-22 LA Lakers had five likely future Hall of Famers in the lineup. James, Davis, Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard were the star-studded names on that roster. There was even talk that they could eclipse the Golden State Warriors' 73-9 record.
Instead, the season became filled with struggles. The Lakers didn’t win back-to-back games in more than three months. When they finally won two straight games, the season was nearly over.
They ended the regular season with a 33-49 record and were eliminated from play-in contention. The rebuilding San Antonio Spurs and the Kawhi Leonard-less LA Clippers had better records than them.
Russell Westbrook played the most games with 78. Anthony Davis played only 40 games and was out of shape when the season started.
LeBron James had a season for the ages in year 19. He averaged 30.3 points per game and nearly won the scoring title. He gallantly tried to carry the LA Lakers, but his efforts weren't enough to carry the team to the playoffs.
LA’s veteran lineup was regularly outhustled and outworked by opponents last season. On a few occasions, they were called out by Magic Johnson and James Worthy for lackluster efforts, especially on defense.
Jeanie Buss even walked out on the LA Lakers
On February 28, 2022, the LA Lakers were at home against the New Orleans Pelicans. Out of the Lakers’ five future Hall of Famers, only Anthony Davis was out.
The game was close in the first half before the Pelicans unloaded a demoralizing barrage in the third quarter. The Pelicans outscored the Lakers 44-20, which earned the home team relentless jeers from disappointed fans.
Jeanie Buss couldn’t stomach what she saw and walked out of Crypto.com Arena.
In a post-game report, Russell Westbrook relayed the bitter truth:
“Teams are coming in and playing harder. I believe that’s their scouting report — just play harder than them and see what happens. And it’s working.”
