Los Angeles Lakers: 3 keys to being legitimate contenders in 2018-19

1. LeBron James

If you were expecting anything different atop this list, then you need to watch more basketball.

The greatest player in the world is now a Laker, and he’s single-handedly turned this team’s short-term outlook around. The general consensus seems to be that he can’t take this team to the top in his first year, but I’m a firm believer that there’s no counting out LeBron when it comes to the NBA Finals. Dwyane Wade would agree with that assertion (via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk).

We must remember that, for the last eight years, James has led his team to the Finals. Although he’s only won three times, we simply can’t ignore the fact that LeBron knows how to make it the top.

Yes, he’s in the West now. Yes, he has the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets to go through. While the West will prove to be a more treacherous path for the King, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. James has certainly overcome adversity before, and this absolutely won’t be the last time.

I would also make the argument that James has a better supporting cast in Los Angeles than he did a season ago in Cleveland. Especially if youngsters like Ball and Ingram can up their game, the amount of talent around him could be exponentially better by season’s end than it was a year ago. That’ll make his battle through the Western Conference playoffs all the more interesting.

Too many people are writing off LeBron right now. He isn’t being babied in the East anymore, he’s getting too old, he doesn’t care about winning championships anymore… Blah, blah, blah. Enough with the nonsense. LeBron James is still the greatest player in the world, and he’s going to provide more evidence of that during his upcoming campaign with the Lakers.

Better jump on now, because the bandwagon is filling up fast.