2024-2025 Lakers Season Team Grades

The 2024-2025 Los Angeles Lakers season has come to a close, ending their season in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers' lack of size at the center position was apparent. General Manger Rob Pelinka was adamant in his exit interview about the Lakers' priority to obtain a center this summer along with adding to the team's wing depth.

While the current roster (minus Luka) was built with Anthony Davis in mind, the Lakers will have a full offseason to construct a title contender around Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. After a 50-win season under rookie head coach JJ Redick and acquiring a top 5 player in the league, the Lakers have every reason to feel optimistic about the title window for the next 5-10 years.

Now that the season is finished, here is my personal evaluation of each player's performance this season relative to their individual expectations and impact on the floor.

STARTERS:

PG - LUKA DONCIC (28 Games): A-

28.2 PTS | 8.1 REB | 7.5 AST | 43.8 FG% | 37.9 3FG%

Luka Doncic arrived to LA midseason and took a few games to get his rhythm back after recovering from a leg injury on Christmas. But in his 28 games total games as a Laker, he quickly became the team's best player and completely changed the structure and identity of the team. He can score at will from anywhere on the floor, making it seem like scoring 30 points a night is a cakewalk. He has taken a ton of the offensive load off of LeBron, which has allowed James to become one of the team's best defenders. Being one of the smartest players in the league, Luka's playmaking and passing open up so many opportunities for his teammates, often creating wide open threes for guys like Austin, Rui, Dorian and so on. The future is bright in LA.

SG - AUSTIN REAVES (73 Games): A

20.2 PTS | 4.5 REB | 5.8 AST | 46.0 FG% | 37.7 3FG%

Austin Reaves had the best season of his career. He has shown immense growth as a player and has taken the leaps many had envisioned since his rookie year. He's become a more dependable scorer, but it's his playmaking that has really taken the farthest leap. Whenever the one or both of the team's top 2 stars were out, Reaves had no issue stepping up and taking on a lot more ball handling responsibilities. While Austin did not have the greatest playoff series, he remains a vital piece to the Lakers future.

SF/PF - LEBRON JAMES (70 Games): A-

24.4 PTS | 7.8 REB | 8.2 AST | 51.3 FG% | 37.6 3FG%

Players as they age typically notice a dip in their game. They don't shoot the ball as well, they don't play as many minutes, their efficiency goes down, their points dwindle, etc. But so far, 22 years in, LeBron James is as impactful as ever. This season he managed to average more rebounds, assists and higher field goal percentage than his own career averages. He's been a very efficient from downtown the last two years, he can still get to the rim, his playmaking is still at an all-time high (8.2 assists per game) and showed to be one of the team's best defenders. He's also been very available, playing a combined 141 games in the past two seasons.

SF/PF - RUI HACHIMURA (59 Games): B

13.1 PTS | 5.0 REB | 1.4 AST | 50.9 FG% | 41.3 3FG%

Rui Hachimura is an incredibly efficient player and one of the best shooters on the team. He is very capable of creating his own shot or spotting up on the perimeter. While he could show a bit more aggressiveness offensively, defensively is where he needs to show the most grit. He's had stints of great post defense, but his perimeter and off/on ball defense isn't his current strong suit and would love to see him grow as a defender next year.

C - JAXSON HAYES (56 Games): C

6.8 PTS | 4.8 REB | 1.0 AST | 0.9 BLK | 72.2 FG%

Jaxson Hayes was thrust into the starting center role in the aftermath of the Anthony Davis trade and served as a backup to AD. Hayes primarily serves as a lob threat and after the trade had a stretch of very good rim protection. LA's center depth was already thin, and asking Hayes to step into that role was a big ask, but as the playoffs showed, his archetype isn't a sustainable option going forward however he may be serviceable as a backup Power Forward.

BENCH:

PF/SF - DORAIN FINNEY-SMITH (43 Games): B

7.9 PTS | 3.6 REB | 1.4 AST | 44.2 FG% | 39.8 3FG%

DFS arrived in December when he was traded to LA for D'Angelo Russell. Dorian brought a much-needed toughness to this group and 3-point shooting. He is the type of two-way 3&D guy you want next to LeBron and Luka.

PG/SG - GABE VINCENT (72 Games): C

6.4 PTS | 1.3 REB | 1.4 AST | 40.0 FG% | 35 3FG%

Gabe Vincent had a rough start to the year and struggled to get anything sort of rhythm. But as the regular season went along, he solidified himself in the rotation, provided some defense and 1.5 threes a game. Gabe's shooting was inconsistent, but he had plenty of big shots in big games all year.

SF/PF/C - Jarred Vanderbilt (36 Games): C

4.1 PTS | 5.1 REB | 1.1 AST | 48.8 FG% | 28.1 3FG%

Jarred Vanderbilt's defense was sorely missed after recovering from a foot injury from February 2024. He provides a ton of energy and heart off the bench, defensive prowess and rebounding. However, his offense still needs improvement. He has not shown to be a reliable 3-point shooter, nor does he look to attack the rim. He'll finally have a full summer to train and hopefully expand his offensive game.

SG/SF - DALTON KNECHT (78 Games): B-

9.1 PTS | 2.8 REB | 0.8 AST | 46.1 FG% | 37.6 3FG%

The steal of the draft, Dalton Knecht proved to be a streaky lights-out shooter and a poised basketball player on his rookie year. He had a career high 37-point game with 9 threes against the Utah Jazz. With improvements to his defense, he is sure to blossom into an all-around great player.

PG - JORDAN GOODWIN (29 GAMES): C+

5.6 PTS | 3.9 REB | 1.4 AST | 43.8 FG% | 38.2 3FG%

A solid midseason signing for the Lakers, provided more point-of-attack defense and some extra rebounding and three-point shooting.

PG - SHAKE MILTON (30 Games): D+

3.9 PTS | 1.8 REB | 1.3 AST | 43.3 FG% | 29.4 3FG%

PF - MARKIEFF MORRIS (8 Games): D

5.5 PTS | 1.9 REB | 2.1 AST | 33.3 FG% | 30.4 3FG%

SG - BRONNY JAMES (27 Games): NBA GRADE: D-

G-LEAGUE GRADE: A-

NBA: 2.3 PTS | 0.7 REB | 0.8 AST | 31.3 FG% | 28.1 3FG%

G-LEAGUE: 21.9 PTS | 5.1 REB | 5.5 AST | 44.0 FG% | 38.0 3FG%

C - ALEX LEN (10 Games): F

2.2 PTS | 3.1 REB | 0.8 AST | 45.5 FG% | 33.3 3FG%

PF - MAXI KLEBER (0 Games - Injury): N/A

TWO-WAY PLAYERS:

C - CHRISTIAN KOLOKO (37 Games): NBA GRADE: D

G-LEAGUE GRADE: B

NBA: 2.4 PTS | 2.5 REB | 0.4 AST | 0.4 BLK | 60.6 FG%

G-LEAGUE: 14.8 PTS | 8.4 REB | 1.7 AST | 54.5 FG% | 21.7 3FG%

C - TREY JEMISON III (22 Games): NBA GRADE: D

G-LEAGUE GRADE: C+

NBA: 2.6 PTS | 2.8 REB | 0.3 AST | 0.4 BLK | 61.9 FG%

G-LEAGUE: 10.5 PTS | 7.8 REB | 1.8 AST | 1.0 BLK | 50.0 FG%