The Los Angeles Lakers will probably have a few firsts in 2024-25.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick will be manning the sidelines professionally for the first time. Bronny James will, more likely than not, play his first real NBA minutes. If so, LeBron James could share the court with him as the first active father-son duo in league history.
What won’t be new is their starting lineup, as Redick has already made up his mind about who will comprise their first unit.
In the latest episode of "The Lowe Post," he revealed that LA will start the five players who “went 23-10 last year.” In the stretch that Redick is referring to, the Lakers started LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura. From Feb. 1 to the end of the 2023-24 season, that quintet brought the team back to life like Lazarus.
Their on-court chemistry was excellent. They were starting and closing games better. They even defeated playoff-bound teams like the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves. In fact, the Lakers played so well with that group that one of the major talking points was why it took former head coach Darvin Ham so long to start them together.
Despite that, there was good reason to wonder who Redick would pick as his starters.
Of course, James and Davis were locks; the team probably won’t be clinching a playoff berth without them. Reaves, a fan and franchise favorite, was a near-lock. However, after Russell fell apart in yet another playoff run, his spot wasn’t guaranteed. Hachimura, who has started in less than half the games he’s played for Los Angeles, had the least security of them all.
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