The Lakers, like every other NBA team, are operating under small sample sizes.
And with the 2026-27 NBA season just 1 ½ weeks old, that’ll be the case for at least a few more weeks until teams get closer to Thanksgiving.
But a team’s first few games are informative, and the Lakers have already provided enough information to show the type of team they’ll be – their areas of strengths and concerns after a 4-1 start.
Here are five standout statistics from the Lakers’ first five games entering Friday’s NBA Cup Group Play matchup against the Warriors in San Francisco:
60.4
That’s the combined amount of points the Lakers star backcourt of Luka Doncic (league-leading 36 points per game) and Austin Reaves (24.4 points) are averaging so far this season, making them the highest-scoring pair of teammates in the league.
Factor in their passing (Doncic with 8.3 assists; Reaves with 5.4) and they’re not only two of the ten players in league who were averaging 24 points and 5 assists entering Thursday, but also the only pair of teammates in the league doing so.
Doncic and Reaves working so well together, while also producing gaudy stat lines, isn’t surprising.
They combined to average 62.7 points and 17.1 assists during the Lakers’ 10-4 start to last season while LeBron James was sidelined.
The star guards also averaged 58.1 points and 13.1 assists during the Lakers’ 16-2 stretch in the late winter/early spring.
It’s unlikely Doncic and Reaves will come even close to being the highest-scoring duo in a season. The record of 72.3 points, which is held by Wilt Chamberlain (50.4 points) and Paul Arizin (21.9 points), seems unbreakable.
But being the highest-scoring duos in a season since the NBA-ABA merger (1976) isn’t out of the question.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who combined for 61.5 points per game while with the Rockets in 2019-20, currently hold that distinction.
122.5
Considering the aforementioned combined offensive firepower of Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers entered the season with expectations of being an elite offensive team.
And they’ve been that.
Their offensive rating entering Thursday ranked third in the league behind the Trail Blazers (126.8) and Rockets (122.5).
They were at the top or near the top in several offensive categories, including true shooting percentage (65.8%; No. 1), effective field goal percentage (61.7%; No. 1), 3-point percentage (39.2%; No. 2) and halfcourt offensive rating (106.6; No. 2).
64.5
That’s the Lakers’ defensive rebounding percentage, which ranked as the third-worst mark in the league.
It hasn’t been surprising to see the Lakers struggle on the defensive boards when starting center Walker Kessler hasn’t been on the court.
What’s been the most surprising is that the Lakers have actually been a worst defensive rebounding team with Kessler on the court compared to the bench.
They’ve collected 10.4% more defensive rebounds with Kessler off the court – a trend that likely won’t continue.
“Where he can continue to grow with us, he was, like per 36 numbers, per minute numbers, he’s not rebounding at the rate [we expect],” coach JJ Redick said. “And obviously that’s an area of concern for us right now. So need to be him doing better, particularly on the defensive glass. That’s where I think he can give us the biggest boost right now defensively.”
7th
That’s where the Lakers ranked in terms of offensive transition frequency and points per transitiion possession after being more middle of the pack last season.
This is despite losing LeBron James, one of the best transition players in league history.
“Doing a decent job of throwing the ball ahead,” Redick said. “And I think [we] have had some really good moments of sprinting for layups. The other thing I think we’ve done a decent job of and part of it is the throws aheads: By throwing the ball ahead and by running, you create early cross-matches. Those early cross-matches are a little more comfortable.”
65.2%
That’s the percentage opponents are shooting against the Lakers at the rim.
While it’s an average number compared to the rest of the league, it’s a significant improvement from last season’s mark of 71.5%, which was the second-worst mark among all 30 teams.
