Two reporters say Lakers have real shot at winning 2026 NBA championship

Few people, if any, consider the Los Angeles Lakers to be true championship contenders right now.

Many have them as a mid-tier playoff team, and some even predict that they will end up in the play-in tournament and possibly even miss the playoffs.But the Lakers, at the very least, look significantly better on paper right now than they did when they were knocked out of the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves about four months ago.

They went from Jaxson Hayes to Deandre Ayton as their starting center, and they also added Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.

In addition, Luka Doncic seems to be in the best shape of his life after dropping quite a bit of weight earlier this summer.On a recent episode of the Sports Illustrated "Open Floor" podcast, Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols named the Western Conference teams that are in their top tier.

Mannix said the Lakers are in that exact tier."I'm putting them in the top tier," he said.

"They are in my ring chaser tier."Mannix then cited a recent narrative about the Lakers reportedly looking to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic within the next two years and essentially punt until then, and said that it is a false narrative."There's this perception that the Lakers are playing the long game," continued Mannix.

"They've got Luka under contract.

They're gonna worry about next summer when they can potentially have some clean books, go out and get a second superstar.

Well, they've got the second superstar."That second superstar is obviously LeBron James, who, despite being 40 years of age, is coming off yet another strong season.

He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds a game and was named to both the All-Star team and the All-NBA Second Team last season, and he still isn't showing any signs of slowing down.Co-host Rachel Nichols also agreed that the Lakers should be classified as legitimate title contenders."I don't think there's any question about this," said Nichols.

"...

But in this case, I don't understand why people are being reserved about them.

Luka Doncic is inarguably one of the top three players in the league.

...

In the shape he's in, with the motivation he has, with co-star and people around him he has, there's a strong possibility that he is legit competing for MVP this year or possibly going to win it."...

I am not putting the Lakers in the Oklahoma City, Denver category, to me, they are in a category of their own.

But the Lakers, damn straight, are in the 'If they end up winning the finals, nobody should be surprised' category."Both Mannix and Nichols mentioned how well the Lakers played the Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning NBA champions, last season late in the schedule.

Both teams faced each other at Paycom Center twice within a span of about 48 hours, and the Lakers won the first matchup, 126-99.

They were neck and neck with the Thunder during the second matchup in the fourth quarter when Doncic received a questionable ejection with 7:40 left.

Oklahoma City dominated the rest of the way and won 136-120.This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Two reporters say Lakers have real shot at winning 2026 NBA title.

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