Halfway through the NBA betting season, the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks. Correlate that once Doncic arrived, the Lakers became one of the top teams in the NBA and gained the #3 seed in the Western Conference for the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Thus, it was a tale of two seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. The first part was the Lakers without Luka Doncic. Los Angeles was mired in mediocrity and red ink. Hence, fans and gamblers were tuning out, and a move needed to be made.
2025 NBA Playoffs First Round Preview: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
| Date and Time: | Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 10 p.m. ET. |
|---|---|
| Location: | crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA |
| TV Coverage: | TNT |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +5½ -111 | 210½ -105 | +210 |  |
| Los Angeles Lakers | -5½ -109 | 210½ -115 | -250 | |
| ||||
Los Angeles Lakers Series Schedule
- Game 2: Timberwolves at Lakers | Tuesday, April 22, 10 p.m. | TNT
- Game 3: Lakers at Timberwolves | Friday, April 25, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN
- Game 4: Lakers at Timberwolves | Sunday, April 27, 3:30 p.m. | ABC
- Game 5: Timberwolves at Lakers | Wednesday, April 30, TBD | TBD*
- Game 6: Lakers at Timberwolves | Friday, May 2, TBD | TBD*
- Game 7: Timberwolves at Lakers | Sunday, May 4, TBD | TBD*
Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach
Head coach Davin Ham was fired at the end of last sportsbook season. JJ Redick is the new head coach after hosting a podcast and serving as an ESPN NBA analyst. Consider that Redick had a better-than-expected first season, leading the Lakers to their best record since 2020.
Los Angeles Lakers Key Players
F LeBron James is a 4-time NBA champion. Also, he is a 4-time NBA Finals MVP, 4-time NBA MVP, and 21-time NBA All-Star, including this year. This year, James averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per contest.
PG Luka Doncic is a 5-time NBA All-Star. In turn, he has averaged over 30 points per game in the past two seasons and in three of his four playoff campaigns for Dallas. This season, Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game.
Additionally, Austin Reaves averaged 20.2 points and 5.8 assists per game.
Los Angeles Lakers Record, Metrics & History
Overall, Los Angeles’s NBA metrics were 17th for scoring offense, 9th for field goal percentage, 14th for 3-point field goal percentage, 13th for free throw percentage, and 26th for offensive rebounding. While on defense, the Lakers’ metrics were 11th for scoring defense, 10th for field goal percentage permitted, 10th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 10th for defensive rebounding.
In sum, the Los Angeles Lakers’ final regular season record was 50-32 straight up, 45-35-2 against the spread, and 41-41 over/under the NBA betting total. Los Angeles was third in the Western Conference playoff standings, 18 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960. They were a star-crossed team for over a decade, making it to the NBA Finals eight times, but they lost all eight of those trips. Finally, this franchise brought Los Angeles a title in 1972, just before West, Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain called it quits.
Later on, the Lakers had much more success in the 1980s. They won five NBA championships with Magic Johnson running the Showtime Lakers alongside James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Next, the Lakers boasted another mini-dynasty at the start of the 21st Century. Phil Jackson led the Lakers to three straight titles while managing the egos of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Also, Jackson coached the Lakers to two titles at the end of the decade, with Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Pau Gasol.