The Los Angeles Lakers suffered one of their most demoralizing losses of the season today, going down 117-135 against the Charlotte Hornets. LA looked old, tired, and completely out-hustled by a younger, faster, and more energetic Hornets squad, and, according to Lakers head coach JJ Redick, there’s a clear reason for this.

“These guys grew up watching LeBron James play,” Redick told reporters after being asked about teams playing harder against them. “The Lakers are, like the Celtics, arguably the most storied franchise in all of sports… I think all the guys know, we don’t get a lot of off nights from other teams in terms of energy and being up.”

It was an honest answer. Redick felt like his team played well, and framed the loss less as an internal failure and more as the disadvantage that comes with playing in the jersey, because the Lakers area a measuring stick for everyone in the league. It doesn’t help that LeBron James has been the face of the Lakers for since 2019.

James is one of the most iconic players of the league, and a side effect of his longevity is that players who grew up watching him are now in the league playing next to him. Just a few years ago, an interaction between him and Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. went viral, when he told James that Smith Sr. played against him in his first NBA game, all the way back in Sacramento in 2003.

After all, players, regardless of age, know how important the Lakers are, and potentially even grow up looking up to their figures. Just a few weeks ago, the team’s own player, Jake LaRavia spoke about how he grew up as a fan of the team, and that moment just serves as a representation Redick‘s point about the current generation of the NBA.

Hornets’ Shot-Making and Pace Expose JJ Redick’s Lakers’ Margin for Error

The Lakers looked like they were in control early. The team raced out to a 39-30 first-quarter lead and building a 13-point lead in the first 10 minutes, looking like an experienced contender, but then things changed. The play sped up, and the Hornets’ legs came alive in the second quarter, with drastically improved shot quality and an urgency that Redick indicated teams save for nights like this.

From that point, it was a completely different matchup. Charlotte dominated the second quarter 34-16, holding LA to 27.8% shooting while completely flipping the tempo. The Hornets finished the night shooting over 54% from the field and 46% from three, drilling 20 of their 43 attempts.

LaMelo Ball owned the night with 30 points and 11 assists, burying nine threes, while the rest of the core, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Kon Knueppel, combined for 70 points.

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LA never found a way to slow it down, despite Luka Doncic and LeBron James logging 39 and 29 points each. The Lakers shot just 39% for the game and went a staggeringly poor 8-41 from beyond the arc. As soon as Charlotte opened the fourth with a 14-3, the game felt decided, and Ball sealed the game with late back-to-back threes.

The result was more than just a bad night, reflecting how the engaged, younger team, outworked JJ Redick’s Lakers group that felt stuck in neutral gear.