LeBron James and Dalton Knecht showed love for LA sports as they attended the LA Rams game at SoFi Stadium, watching them defeat the San Francisco 49ers earlier today. The duo were at the game separately, with James spotted sitting in the VIP wing, and Knecht seen posing with a custom Rams jersey elsewhere.
James must have been especially happy with the result, as he grew up a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, and their most historic rivals have been the San Francisco 49ers. James is often seen at NFL games at SoFi stadium, especially when the Rams are playing. Perhaps James has grown fond of the team in the last few years.
This will be the last bit of reprieve the two players will have, as the formalities of the new NBA season begin next week. NBA media day takes place next week, as players arrive to have their pictures taken for renders and media circulation, and will also address the press individually at different points in time.
For the Lakers, there is a lot of doubt about what their roster can achieve this year. While most fans have been very positive about the pick-up of Dalton Knecht in the draft, the Lakers were notoriously inactive during free agency, only re-signing LeBron James after he let his contract expire and didn't pick up his player option.
James had offered to take a pay cut if the Lakers were able to sign a star player in free agency, but they missed out on stars like Klay Thompson, which meant that James took a little under the full max. With no major improvements from their team, many fans expect the Lakers to underwhelm once again this season.
The Lakers' Playoff Woes Set To Continue
Many experts believe the Lakers will once again be a play-in contender this year, as there are too many teams ahead of them in the pecking order of the Western Conference. If the Lakers do finish between the 7th and the 10th seed, it will continue their streak of finishing outside the top 6 since 2020.
The last time the Lakers made the playoffs directly was in the 2019-20 NBA season, when they clinched the first seed in the Western Conference, en route to winning the NBA championship. Since then, they have either finished in the play-in tournament position or not reached the playoffs at all.
While LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still playing at a high level, the rest of the Lakers' squad has been quite poor. Players like D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt have been disappointing, to say the least, whether it be due to injuries or subpar performances on the court.
The Lakers will rely upon young stars like Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and young rookie Dalton Knecht to play a big role for the next season. With Rob Pelinka proving gunshy when it comes to making big trades recently, odds are, they will have to make things work with the roster they have next season.
