The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the 2026-27 season looking to make defense a bigger strength after finishing 18th in that area last year.
“We clearly need to have a better overall season defensively,” JJ Redick said in May.
Los Angeles improved during the second half of last season, but the coch still wanted greater consistency.
“We had flashes of that,” Redick added. “I have said this numerous times: Our improvement defensively is a big credit to our staff, [assistant coaches] Bob [Beyer] and Greg [St. Jean], and the work they did in film and in walk-throughs. But we gotta do better defensively.”
Walker Kessler should provide the biggest upgrade inside. The Lakers struggled to protect the rim last season, while Kessler established himself as one of the NBA’s better rim protectors during his four years with Utah.
Although Marcus Smart departed, the Lakers strengthened their perimeter depth by adding Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams alongside Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia.
Thybulle averaged two steals last season and led qualified players in steals and deflections per 36 minutes, while Williams averaged a career-high 1.4 steals.
With Kessler behind them, Los Angeles can also afford to be more aggressive defensively on the perimeter.
The Lakers may not have an elite perimeter stopper, but Redick now has more defensive options around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, giving the team a chance to become an above-average defense.
