The Los Angeles Lakers ended the 2023-24 season in terrific fashion, winning seven out of their last ten regular season games. Despite their resurgent late season form, the Lakers could only manage to secure the 8th spot in the Western Conference standings. This means that they would face the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament. Should they succeed in winning their play-in matchup against the Pelicans, they will set up a rematch with the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

However, the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t fared well against the Nuggets in their recent matchups. In fact, the Lakers have won just 2 out of their last 10 matches against Denver. They last won a game against the Nuggets on 16th December 2022. The Lakers’ struggles against the Nuggets have prompted speculation that they might purposely lose their play-in game against the Pelicans to avoid facing the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

However, Lakers icon Magic Johnson has come out and publicly voiced his opinion about this growing speculation. He wrote via his official X account, “I want the Lakers to beat the Pelicans tonight to secure the #7 seed and face the Nuggets… It’s ridiculous that I’ve been hearing people think they should intentionally lose to face the winner of the Kings vs Warriors and eventually, the Thunder. As a true competitor, you should always want to win. To be the best, you have to beat the best!”

Magic Johnson hit the nail right in the head with his remarks. If the Lakers aim to challenge for the 2024 title, then they would need to face the Nuggets at some point in the postseason. Therefore, such speculations hold no weight. But could the Los Angeles Lakers challenge for the title?

Can the Los Angeles Lakers contend for the 2024 NBA title?

It has been three years since LeBron James led the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship. However, they have suffered disappointment season after season since then. The 2023 postseason in which they managed to reach the Western Conference Finals offered some hope and promise. But LA followed that up with a subpar 2023-24 regular season.

Of course, untimely injuries to key players like Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura have had a negative impact. However, the Lakers also don’t look like a cohesive unit, which is capable enough to challenge for a title. They are too heavily reliant on Anthony Davis and LeBron James. LeBron leads the Lakers in scoring and assists per game with averages of 25.7 points and 8.3 assists, respectively. Meanwhile, AD leads the team in rebounding with an average of 12.3 rebounds per game.

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Role players of the Los Angeles Lakers like Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince need to set up if the Lakers aspire to be the champions. AD and LeBron alone can’t guide LA to the promised land of the NBA title. Each player must play their part. What are your thoughts? Can the Lakers win the 2024 NBA title? Let us know in the comments below!