The Lakers, who had acquired veteran All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony during the offseason, were widely considered by experts as favorites to win the Western Conference.
Despite LeBron James' best points per game average since 2005–06, and a number of scoring and age-related records, the Lakers disappointed, with a combination of injuries and underperformances, as well as an aging roster.
[15] In 2023, Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report named the Lakers' acquisition of Westbrook as the worst trade in the NBA over the past five years.
They competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season 11th with a 33–49 record, one game behind the last spot for the NBA play-in tournament.
[19] After the acquisitions of Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in the offseason,[20][21][22] the Lakers were widely considered by experts to be the favorites to win the Western Conference.
[26][27] Despite LeBron James' best points per game average since 2005–06,[28] and a number of scoring and age-related records,[29][30][31] the Lakers disappointed,[32] with a combination of injuries and underperformances.
[33][34] Following the season, Sam Quinn of CBS News stated that an aged and mismanaged roster was also responsible for the disappointing outcome.
[45] Due to an ankle injury in March, James fell out of a close three-player race for the NBA scoring title,[46][47][48] finishing with only 56 games played, two less than necessary to qualify.