With the preseason rapidly approaching, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Media Day is set for Monday, Sept. 24, with training camp beginning the following day. The Lakers will spend the week practicing at UCLA Health Training Center, including a pair of two-a-days.
The Lakers’ practice facility has already seen plenty of action this summer, with the likes of Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Michael Beasley and Rajon Rondo among those participating in various workouts and scrimmages.
What’s perhaps most impressive is the players have done so on their own accord; teams are not permitted to require their presence at workouts during the offseason. The sessions have drawn rave reviews from the Lakers front office for their intensity and level of focus.
After sharing pictures from the latest workout, the team provided another glimpse behind closed doors by sharing highlights from a scrimmage that saw James score over Kuzma and JaVale McGee, and Josh Hart showing off a bit of his playmaking ability, via Twitter:
#LakeShow season is right around the corner!! pic.twitter.com/Vxp8jGLLwm
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 18, 2018
While there’s plenty of attention surrounding James and his first season with the Lakers, more intrigue perhaps lies with how head coach Luke Walton will fill out his lineup. Walton has made it clear no other starter is set, and training camp will see a competition to decide that.
However, Walton noted that won’t simply be a matter of the best player or better performer starting. An emphasis will be placed on how units develop chemistry and what is in the best interest of the team.
In explaining his stance, Walton pointed to former teammate Lamar Odom once being one of the Lakers’ top players but sacrificing to come off the bench as the sixth man.