One of the primary concerns for the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the 2025-26 NBA season was on the defensive end of the floor. The storied franchise appeared to be a team built to excel offensively, with the three-headed monster of Luka Dončić, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves leading the way; however, defense was definitely a concern.
Although the Lakers are without a doubt one of the best teams in the league, nearly 25 games into the 2025-26 campaign, there’s no question the team still struggles on the defensive end of the floor, which might turn out to be this team’s Achilles heel if they can’t get it figured out throughout the regular season.
James Emphasizes Need for Lakers to Improve Defensively
On Wednesday, the Lakers went head-to-head against a Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup at Crypto.com Arena.
Although the Lakers were favored to come out on top against the Spurs, especially with Wembanyama still on the mend, Los Angeles was outplayed from start to finish. James and company struggled defensively all night long, which ultimately resulted in the Lakers getting eliminated from the NBA Cup.
After the game, James spoke to the media and made it clear that the team needs to be on the same page defensively to be successful moving forward, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group.
LeBron James mentioned “five guys being on a string” when asked how the Lakers’ perimeter on-ball defense can improve: “It has to be five guys on a string. Communication, always at an all-time high, letting you know what’s going on behind you and things of that nature.” pic.twitter.com/1BVTKCEf4l
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) December 11, 2025
“It has to be five guys on a string, ” James said. “Communication, always at an all-time high, letting you know what’s going on behind you and things of that nature.”
If the Lakers can figure out how to improve defensively and or possibly make a trade for a player that excels in that area before the NBA trade deadline in February, Los Angeles could be a very dangerous team for the rest of the season.
However, if changes aren’t made defensively and the team continues to struggle on that end of the basketball floor, the team will be a flawed squad for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign and likely unable to compete with the likes of the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder or Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series during the NBA playoffs.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, there’s still a lot of basketball left to be played, where things can change, and moves can be made.
