LeBron James has sobering take on current state of the Lakers

Apr 4, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) reacts to being called for a foul against the Utah Jazz in the last minute of the fourth quarter at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers are the definition of mediocre — and LeBron James knows it too.

The Lakers fell to 24-25 after getting outclassed 138-122 by the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Tuesday. The loss was the Lakers’ second 16-point defeat in as many nights after getting similarly blown out by the Houston Rockets on Monday. Both the Rockets and Hawks are currently sub-.500 teams.

James addressed the reality of the Lakers’ situation during a locker room interview after the game.

“We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA. And then on any given night we could get out a– kicked by any team in the NBA,” James told reporters (profanity edited by LBS).

LeBron James on the 24-25 Lakers: “We could on any given night beat any team in the NBA. And then on any given night we could get our ass kicked” pic.twitter.com/IlKra5XAmy

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 31, 2024

The Lakers were 5-2 over their last seven games entering this week’s back-to-back against the Rockets and Hawks. That successful stretch included encouraging wins over formidable West playoff teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.

The Lakers’ last win came in a thrilling 145-144 contest over the Golden State Warriors wherein James outshined Steph Curry, who finished with 46 points in the double-overtime affair.

Instead of carrying any momentum from the win over Warriors, James and the Lakers proceeded to get punked by Dillon Brooks in a blowout loss to the Rockets and again lose to the Hawks.

The Lakers have failed to string together three consecutive victories since Dec. 7 when the team was 14-9. They proceeded to lose five of their next six games to drop to 15-14 and have hovered around .500 ever since.

James had 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in Tuesday’s game against the Hawks. Austin Reaves posted a game-high 28 points on 10/19 shooting. Anthony Davis was unable to suit up due to injury, which may have led to even more discord within the dysfunctional Lakers’ locker room.