"The best team that we’ve played" - LeBron James gives props to Nuggets after they sweep the Lakers
A healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis finally lost a playoff series when the Denver Nuggets comprehensively beat them in four games to win the 2023 Western Conference finals.
Not many teams have matched well with the LA Lakers' dominant duo in the postseason since they came together in 2019.
James admitted that changed against the Nuggets after they ended the Lakers season with a 113-111 Game 4 win on Monday.
Here's what he said:
"If not the best, probably the best team that we’ve played since we’ve been together for our four years. Just well orchestrated, well put together. They have scoring... Shooting, they have playmaking."
“Probably the best team that we’ve played since we’ve been together for our four years.”
LeBron James on the 2022-23 Denver Nuggets https://t.co/x2OoB5AMn7
LeBron James and Anthony Davis' only playoff series loss before this was against the Phoenix Suns in Round 1 of the 2021 playoffs. The Lakers were up 2-1 in that series before Davis went down with a groin injury.
Before that, the duo led the Lakers to a championship run in 2020 without playing a single Game 7 contest.
They were crowned the Western Conference champions after winning in five games against all their opponents, including a younger version of the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron and AD asserted their dominance in the 2023 playoffs, beating the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and the defending champions Golden State Warriors in the conference semis in six games apiece.
The 2023 Nuggets were the first team to beat them when healthy and go on to sweep them too. Denver excelled in every aspect, outplaying the Lakers on all fronts.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis' window to win another championship is closing down
The LA Lakers have had massive ups and downs since the LeBron James and Anthony Davis era began in 2019. After winning the championship as a top seed in the West in 2020, the Lakers got eliminated in Round 1 in 2021, missed the playoffs in 2022 and made the Conference finals in 2023.
Their gamble in the 2021-22 season potentially cost them the shot at winning multiple championships with LeBron and AD. The Lakers made a massive gamble by breaking up their championship-winning core after 2021. They added Russell Westbrook, exhausting nearly all their tradeable assets and salary cap flexibility with it.
The LA Lakers had to form an entirely new-look roster with aging veterans on minimum contracts outside their new "Big Three". They missed the playoffs that year and didn't have the flexibility to improve the roster to start the 2022-23 season.
The Lakers improved the team before the trade deadline, but it was too late for them to potentially win the championship. A Conference finals appearance in itself was a significant achievement this time around. However, with LeBron James turning 39 two months into the next season, LA's championship window is fast closing down.
LeBron James with a cryptic ending to his press conference: “I got a lot to think about. … Just personally, with me moving forward with the game of basketball, I got a lot to think about.”
James has two years left on his deal with a player option at the end of the 2023-24 season, which he could opt out of and become a free agent. The Lakers' best shot at winning another chip with LeBron and AD seems to be next year only.