The 2024-25 NBA season is just around the corner as the Los Angeles Lakers’ full regular season schedule was recently released.
As is normally the case, the Lakers were given a ton of high-profile games such as Opening Night against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. As long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis still don the purple and gold, the Lakers will be given the most National TV contests.
With that comes a lot of games to get excited for, and we recently ranked the top-10 on the Lakers’ schedule.
There are some under-the-radar games to look forward to as well though, and our staff picked out their favorites in the latest Lakers Nation Roundtable.
Matthew Moreno (@Matthew__Moreno):
I think one game to look forward to is when the Lakers play at Intuit Dome for the first time. Honestly, I’m surprised that’s not happening until Jan. 19, 2025.
Obviously we all know how frustrated the Clippers were playing under the Lakers’ shadow at Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena, so it will be interesting to see the atmosphere in their own arena. And with that, I’m curious how many Lakers fans will get tickets to those Clipper home games.
Other than that, don’t pay too much attention to the narrative of this being a rivalry.
Corey Hansford (@TheeCoreyH):
The game that I have my eye on that is a bit under-the-radar, but shouldn’t be actually comes very early and that is the Lakers hosting the Sacramento Kings in the third game of the season on Oct. 26.
The Kings have quietly had the Lakers number lately, winning seven of eight regular season games over the last two seasons. And with Davis being crushed publicly after multiple rough outings against Domantas Sabonis, he should be motivated to have a big game.
Additionally, the Kings, like the Lakers, are both in that second level of West teams in terms of expectations coming into the season. The Lakers aren’t on the level of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, on paper at least, but this is a test against a team that they will likely be battling for playoff positioning with at the end of the year and a win here could be a big confidence boost and show what these Lakers are capable of.
Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane):
An under-the-radar game I’m looking forward to is Nov. 6 on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies. I think it’s going to tell us a lot about this Lakers team because it’s against a Memphis team that will be much-improved from last season after the injury bug ran wild.
The Grizzlies figure to be competing with the Lakers in the West playoff race and so, even this early, it’s important to find a way to win these games given how slim the margin for error is in the NBA’s varsity conference. Add in the fact that it’s the final game of the Lakers’ five-game road trip, which is typically seen as a trap game, and you’ve got a great early test of both L.A.’s on-court ability and mental focus.
Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand):
I’m really looking forward to the Lakers’ matchups against the Thunder with the first one coming at home on Nov. 29.
The Thunder were the No. 1 seed in the West last season and are only expected to get better as their young players develop. The Lakers did have their number, however, winning three of the four meetings last season.
The main reason for that was Oklahoma City’s lack of size with James and Davis being able to dominate on the interior. With that being the case, I’ll be curious to see if that is still an advantage the Lakers have over the Thunder, or if their offseason additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein will help mitigate that. If the latter is true then the Lakers and rest of the Western Conference may be in trouble.
Matthew Valento (@matthewvalento):
Ultimately, I decided the game on Oct. 26 against the Kings is a good early-season test for the Lakers. Seeing how this L.A. roster is essentially the same, they are going to have to bank on organic growth. In a Western Conference that is going to be more competitive, the Lakers need to be able to hold their own against other top teams. Last season, the Kings dominated the purple and gold in each meeting.
Now, with DeMar DeRozan in a Kings jersey, I’m interested to see if the Lakers struggles persist against Sacramento. Another caveat is Davis against Sabonis. I want to see Davis dispel those narratives of Sabonis owning him. If the Lakers want to avoid the Play-In Tournament, they cannot afford to get swept again in their season series with the Kings.
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