The air around the Crypto.com Arena this season is different. It’s not the nervous, grind-it-out energy of last year, where every win felt like a life-or-death battle dependent entirely on the health of one man. No, this year, the atmosphere crackles with the confident hum of a machine running at peak efficiency. With a stellar 13-4 record, riding a five-game winning streak, and sitting comfortably in the second seed of the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are undeniably different. They are, as the league is quickly learning, one of the most compelling and terrifying stories in the NBA.

Yet, scratch beneath the surface of that dominant record, and a shocking paradox emerges. According to almost every major statistical metric, this Lakers team is, well, average. They rank 15th in offensive rating, 14th in defensive rating, a dismal 26th in three-point percentage, and 28th in turnover rate. By the numbers, they are a perfectly middling basketball team.

How, then, does a supposedly average squad own the third-best record in the entire association, despite generational superstar LeBron James missing 14 games and Luka Dončić sitting out multiple nights? The answer lies not in flashy numbers, but in the ruthlessly efficient construction of a roster designed to succeed in the moments that matter, driven by career-defining leaps from its two most pivotal players and a trio of game-changing offseason additions.

The MVP Catalyst: Luka’s Unprecedented Ascent

The revolution starts with Luka Dončić. When the Lakers executed the blockbuster trade for the Slovenian superstar and secured his long-term future, they weren’t just acquiring a star; they were betting on a legend-in-waiting. This season, that bet is paying off in historic fashion.

Dončić has fully embraced the championship expectations that come with the purple and gold jersey. He arrived in the best shape of his life—leaner, stronger, and more committed than ever—and the results are staggering. Despite missing a handful of games, he is putting up a career-best 35.2 points per game, firmly on pace for his second scoring title. Add in 9.2 assists, 8.8 rebounds, and nearly two steals per game, and you have an offensive engine that is as complete as any the league has ever witnessed.

The key to his scoring surge is his relentless, hyper-efficient attack on the rim. Dončić ranks fourth in the NBA in points generated via drives, and his efficiency on those drives is simply insane: 64.9% shooting, which is 6.9% higher than any other player in the top ten in attempts. He is mastering the art of the inside game, shooting an absurd 83.8% within five feet of the rim. When his defense is also taking a measurable leap, creating turnovers at a career-best rate of two steals per game, the league is looking at a legitimate frontrunner for the MVP award. A happy, fit Luka in Los Angeles is proving to be a truly dangerous combination.

The Unexpected All-Star: Austin Reaves Makes the Leap

The foundation for this Lakers team is built on the dominant synergy between Dončić and the now-bonafide star, Austin Reaves. Any lingering doubts about how Reaves fits next to a high-usage star like Luka have vanished, replaced by the terrifying reality of their combined dominance.

Reeves is putting together an All-Star caliber season, averaging 27.9 points, 7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. What makes this leap so profound is his ability to maintain high-volume scoring, playmaking, and efficiency all at once. Crucially, when both LeBron and Dončić were sidelined, Reaves proved he could carry the team as a number one option, averaging an eye-popping 40 points and 10 assists over a three-game stretch, which included a career-high 51-point eruption.

The Dončić-Reeves pairing is not just explosive; it’s analytically elite. They boast an offensive rating of 119.2 and a defensive rating of 106.8, confirming that their chemistry is powerful enough to control games on both ends of the floor. They are currently the highest-scoring duo in the NBA, combining for 63.1 points per game—a full 10 points better than other elite pairings. The undrafted story is over; Austin Reaves is no longer a feel-good narrative but a legitimate, competitive problem for opposing teams.

The Game-Changing Trio: Quiet Moves, Massive Impact

The largest and most overlooked factor in the Lakers’ success is their summer haul. While rival teams made flashy, headline-grabbing trades, the Lakers quietly and methodically built a machine, adding pieces designed to upgrade their defensive backbone and interior presence.

Deandre Ayton: The Redemption Center

Perhaps the biggest difference-maker is Deandre Ayton. Brought in to be the starting center, the expectations were massive, especially given the questions about his attitude and work ethic from his previous teams. Ayton has answered every single one of those questions with ferocious efficiency. He is thriving, averaging 15.5 points and 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 of which are offensive boards, while shooting an absurd 69% from the field. This is the kind of efficiency that makes him a perfect role man for the Lakers’ stars, providing the interior presence that both Luka (who thrives with a dominant big) and LeBron (who has sought a center upgrade for years) desperately needed. Defensively, he has been a force at the rim, leading the team in blocks and emerging as a vocal anchor, proving he can be a winning center on a contender.

Marcus Smart: The Defensive Conductor

The addition of Marcus Smart has been equally crucial. Smart’s ability to immediately return to elite defensive form has been one of the season’s most welcome surprises. Though his shooting percentages are currently low, his impact is profound and measurable. With Smart on the floor, the Lakers’ defense jumps to elite levels. He guards multiple positions, forces turnovers, and completely wrecks offensive sets. His hustle, intensity, and vocal leadership became the desperate anchor the team needed while LeBron was out, reigniting a collective defensive energy that had been missing for years. Luca Dončić himself couldn’t help but praise Smart’s energy and propensity to dive for every ball.

Jake LaRavia: The Reliable Surprise

Many viewed the signing of Jake LaRavia as a minor move, but he has been far better than anyone expected. Appearing in every game, LaRavia is providing solid numbers—9.9 points and 4.1 rebounds—but his true value lies in his hustle, physical defense, and transition pace. He constantly makes the right read, finishes plays in transition off the trademark passes of Dončić and Reaves, and has delivered crucial scoring bursts, including a 27-point game on the road. He is the quintessential complementary piece, fitting perfectly into the machine the Lakers have built.

The Return of the King: From Foundation to Unstoppable Peak

The most terrifying prospect for the rest of the NBA is that this team achieved its elite record without LeBron James for the first 14 games. Going 10-4 in his absence was precisely the goal: building a foundational team capable of sustaining success as he enters the later stages of his career.

But the King is back, and the impact has been exactly what the team hoped for. Instead of disrupting the newly established chemistry, LeBron has made them nearly unstoppable. He has slid seamlessly into the flow, giving the Lakers the veteran playmaking and offensive diversity they need. With LeBron back, the offense shifts to an entirely new channel, moving in multiple directions at once and feeling completely different. Against the Clippers, the trio of Dončić, Reaves, and James had their best game yet, with LeBron pouring in 25 points.

His new role is less about being the primary ball-handler and more about being the ultimate wild card and secondary orchestrator, making the team competitive against the league’s juggernauts.

The Upside Paradox: The Shooting Flaw is the Ceiling

Despite all this success, a major gap still exists between the Lakers and the elite contenders: shooting. Their offense ranks 15th and defense 14th, meaning they are good, but not elite on either end. The main reason their offense hasn’t been better is one glaring weakness: three-point shooting. The Lakers are dead last in the NBA in made three-pointers per game and are 26th in attempts. The three primary volume shooters—Dončić, Reaves, and Smart—are all hovering around 31% from deep, significantly below their career norms.

This weakness, however, is the very definition of their massive upside.

If the Lakers can go 13-4 with historically bad three-point shooting, imagine the ceiling once their shooters inevitably regress positively toward their career averages. Once Dončić and Reaves start connecting at even a reasonable clip, this offense will hit a completely new, elite level. The combination of the highest-scoring duo in the league, an elite interior presence in Ayton, and a defensive machine built on Smart’s intensity makes this team’s core strengths more than sustainable.

The questions remain: Can LeBron truly embrace his role as the wild card? Can the team maintain this elite scoring over the long haul? Can they solidify their roster at the trade deadline? If the answer to these challenges is yes, the Los Angeles Lakers are not just a hot start; they are a team built to compete at the highest level for a championship. This is not a slightly improved version of last year’s squad. This is a complete, refocused contender. The rest of the NBA must start paying attention, because this Lakers team is for real.