The Lakers won the breakup with LeBron James, and they will be better than the Sixers

In the first episode of Season 3 of How I Met Your Mother, the primary storyline revolves around breakups, and the idea that every time two people split there is a winner and loser. 

If the 2026 offseason was HIMYM, the big breakup that occurred this offseason would be the divorce that transpired between the most storied franchise in league history (the Los Angeles Lakers) and (probably) its greatest player (LeBron James) after eight years of being happily married. 

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To most people, it seems like James won the breakup. After all, the Philadelphia 76ers, James’ new significant other, just assembled the league’s latest superteam in a conference that is much more manageable. Meanwhile, the Lakers are left to deal with the two behemoths (the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder) out West. 

However, I’m here to tell you that, by losing James, the Lakers got way better, and, in turn, won the breakup. 

How The Lakers Got Better Without James

Listen, this isn’t some Skip Bayless inspired anti-James propaganda. As I noted before, James is probably the best player to ever grace the hardwood, and he was certainly the most productive 41 year old of all-time last season. 

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With that said, we have enough of a sample size now to say that James and Luka Doncic were an imperfect fit. According to PBP Stats, the Lakers were better when only one of the two jumbo ball handlers was on the floor than when they shared the court together. 

At the end of the day, both James and Doncic are better when a team is being molded in their likeness, rather than when they need to placate to others’ wants and needs. 

We saw a couple of years ago when the 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks went to the NBA Finals what the Platonic Ideal for a Doncic team would look like. A second fiddle who knows how to oscillate between playing on and off the ball (Kyrie Irving), wings/forwards who will do Doncic’s dirty work (Derrick Jones Jr., PJ Washington, Josh Green), shooters (Tim Hardaway Jr.), and centers who can protect the rim and catch lobs (Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II).

The Lakers haven’t perfectly imitated this formula…

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Publish date : 2026-08-20 12:00:00

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