Lakers Skipping Minicamp This Year: Report

Los Angeles is banking big on continuity in 2024-25.

Apr 12, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis (3) and forward LeBron James (23) sit on the bench during a time out during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 Los Angeles Lakers are banking big on continuity in 2024-25.

To wit, the Purple and Gold are not going to partake in their standard offseason pre-training players-only mini-camp this year, writesDan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Last year, Los Angeles held its mini-camp in San Diego, hot off a 2023 Western Conference Finals run.

This season's vintage is coming off a 47-35 season finish, good for just the Western Conference's eighth-best record, and a quick five-game first round playoff exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.

"LeBron James appeared on Lakers’ social media this week in the team’s weight room, a sign that his post-Olympic reset has come to a close," Woike wrote last week. "These kinds of long summers, the one that he and Anthony Davis agreed to in service of country, push everything else back and change offseason plans."

"Both players are back in the gym, though things in the upcoming weeks will be a little different. The team, as of now, will not be taking one of the player-led minicamps that it’s done in the past," Woike added. "Maybe it’s a perk of continuity; maybe it’s an acknowledgment that there’s no need to push things right now."

Really, it seems likelier that the Lakers want to rest their two best players. Future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis just had an extended offseason, despite their early postseason exit. That's because both frontcourt stars starred for Team USA in their first Olympics since 2012. James started at small forward and was voted Tournament MVP while claiming his third gold medal and fourth medal overall. Davis roundly outplayed starting center Joel Embiid as a two-way force in Paris, and proved that, even at age 31, he still remains a formidable All-NBA talent.

The 31-year-old Davis is embarking on what will be his 13th pro season, while the 39-year-old James, the oldest player in the league, will be suiting up for his record-tying 23rd. Both players also have significant postseason mileage, by benefit of being two of the league's best. That all adds up. It behooves L.A. to slow-roll its season start and ease into things from a practical perspective — although the rest of the loaded Western Conference could get off to a quick start and quickly leave in its dust if the Lakers aren't careful.

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