The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a season where they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. They have one of the most talented rosters in the league but have been unable to come close to repeating the success that they had in 2020 when they won the NBA Championship.

James is still playing at a high level, even at the age of 39. He averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds a game while setting a career-high in 3-point field goal accuracy this past season. He was also named the MVP of the Olympic men's basketball tournament after leading Team USA to the gold medal this summer.