The Lakers’ roller coaster of a 2025-26 seasoncame to an end on Monday night with their second round Game 4 lossto the Thunder.
The ending came both later and sooner than expected.
With Luka Doncic sidelined for all of the playoffs because of a hamstring strain, and Austin Reaves missing the first four games of the postseason, most pundits and writers –including those at the California Post– didn’t expect for them to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.
But once the Lakers got matched up against the Thunder, most expected for them to win at least one game in the second round before the season ended.
That didn’t happen, bringing finality to a Lakers’ season that featured many twists and turns.
How do the Lakers – from the players to head coach – grade out for the season?
LeBron James missed the first 14 regular season games, and 22 in total. Austin Reaves was sidelined for 31 regular games and four playoff games. Luka Doncic missed the end of the season and all of the playoffs.
And yet, the Lakers won 53 regular season games for their best winning percentage in an 82-game season since 2010-11. They won a first round playoff series without their best player.
There are areas of improvement for Redick.
But he and his staff deserve credit for not only getting the Lakers through the year, but leading them to as successful of a season as expected despite the twists and turns.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
