5 things to get excited about for next Lakers season

It has been a wild offseason for the Lakers, who revamped their roster around Luka Doncic and are preparing to try to compete for their first championship since 2020. There’s a lot of uncertainty after they lost their superstar of the last eight years in LeBron James and underwent their second ownership change in the last 14 months, but there’s also a lot to be excited about. Here are the five things Lakers fans have to look forward to heading into next season: After James chose to go to the 76ers in free agency, the Lakers are unequivocally Doncic’s team.For the first time in his career, he took all of his teammates to his home in Slovenia this summer to host a minicamp to build chemistry. Doncic is clearly taking the responsibility of being the Lakers’ superstar very seriously.

He knows he’s playing for a 17-time championship organization and all eyes are going to be on him to lead the team back atop the league. Last season, Doncic led the league in scoring (33.5 points), finished third in assists (8.3) and was fourth in MVP voting before he suffered a hamstring strain that sidelined him for the playoffs. This season, here’s to betting he’s going to be on a personal mission to carry the roster he helped select deep into the postseason. Reaves signed the richest contract in NBA history this offseason for a player who went undrafted.Doncic wanted him as his sidekick. He has officially gone from being one of the league’s wonderful surprises to becoming one of the torchbearers for the NBA’s second-winningest franchise.Reaves had so many moments last season where he proved he’s a star, including a 51-point performance followed by a 41-point performance in October and a jaw-dropping floater at the buzzer during a game against Denver in March. Now expectations are going to be even higher for a player who scraped his way into the league and is now a borderline All-Star. The Lakers went all in on Kessler, whom Doncic wanted as his center...