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Lakers Training Camp Features Joyous, Upbeat Vibes and a DJ

Stephen Douglas

LeBron James speaks jovially with a member of the press.
LeBron James speaks jovially with a member of the press. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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NBA teams have gathered for training camp all over the world this week to prepare for the upcoming season. Among those teams are the Los Angeles Lakers who finished with the seventh-best record in the Western Conference last season and survived the play-in to lose in five games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

With a new coach in JJ Redick and a few roster tweaks that included drafting Dalton Knect and Bronny James, the Lakers are looking for a fresh start and the changes are evident just one day into practice according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha who reports that the vibes are immaculate in L.A. right now.

"The vibes around the Lakers are at an all-time high," said Buha on his latest podcast. "This is my fifth season covering the Lakers and my fifth training camp, and I cannot remember the Lakers having this positive, joyous, upbeat energy around them to this extent in any of the previous four training camps.

That's not hyperbole. That's my honest opinion and just my honest assessment about this situation and what I'm witnessing. Just walking into the gym today and seeing, you know typically, under the previous regime it would be all six courts would be taken, but it'd be a lot of just kind of half-speed guys doing post-workout shooting or maybe occasionally like a drill, but walking in today and, yes it was the first day of camp and we'll see if this stuff upholds, but all we can go off of right now is first practice, first day of camp. It was intense."

One of the big difference this year is the addition of DJ Meal, who played a mix of old-school and modern rap. The DJ provided an "upbeat, uptempo environment" and led to high-intensity shooting drills at a "game style speed," according to Buha.

Needless to say, with vibes this good no team will want to face the Lakers in the playoffs. Stop us if you've heard that one before.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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