The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers will go down in infamy as one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history. They failed to get to the play-in tournament and couldn’t even play above .500 basketball for most of the season.
LeBron James put his GM hat on and, this time, it didn’t work out. According to multiple reports, he pushed Rob Pelinka to make moves, nixed other moves, and pretty much put together a roster that wasn’t a good fit even for those who aren’t exactly basketball connoisseurs.
Now, some fans are giving him a pass after the team’s disappointing season, while others want to hold him accountable for what he did. Needless to say, their elimination from playoff contention was the talk of the night on NBA Twitter.
Lakers Fail To Make The Play-In Game: Funniest Memes And Reactions
Bron might as well go on ahead and delete this ��
RIP to his mentions �� pic.twitter.com/EdU5VnFLHP
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) April 6, 2022
Bron’s teammates had 4 HOFers.. 3 Top 75 players… a former MVP.. and a former x3 DPOY. All of that and he still missed the play-in. RIP Bozo ������ pic.twitter.com/kqGIjlawcH
— LeCancun Raymone James (@Le0verrated) April 6, 2022
Bron coming back to play OKC for a 50 piece against Vit Krejci pic.twitter.com/ncoYIIHf3j
— LeCancun Raymone James (@Le0verrated) April 6, 2022
LeBron playing:
“he just tryna win the scoring title”LeBron not playing:
“he gave up on his team” pic.twitter.com/23ObTRTVEW— Bron’s Best (@LBJszn19) April 5, 2022
Rims seen by Bron:
3 — Last play-in
0 — This play-in pic.twitter.com/bd6w7ZIdy6— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 6, 2022
Bagless Bron in the west
’18-’19: Missed playoffs
’19-’20: Mickey Mouse cup winner
’20-’21: First round exit
’21-’22: Missed the play-in pic.twitter.com/P1DqeP3Hwh— LeCancun Raymone James (@Le0verrated) April 6, 2022
Her: “I bet he’s thinking about other women.”
Him, a Lakers fan: “We could’ve had DeRozan, Caruso, and Hield but LeBron chose Westbrook.” pic.twitter.com/iUY12afUQe
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) April 6, 2022
Russell Westbrook: “Don’t worry bro, we’ll be back next season.”
LeBron: pic.twitter.com/72zj2Vr4Yq
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) April 6, 2022
30 points per game season at age 37 sabotaged by Westbrick and Anthony “4 to 6 weeks” davis pic.twitter.com/MVSiaSG73I
— Sam Yeezy (@samstaydipped) April 6, 2022
“The Lakers with LeBron, AD, Westbrook, and Melo are going to be unstoppable…they may win 70 games” pic.twitter.com/fW5h2BRPio
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) April 6, 2022
Westbrook and LeBron at training camp next season pic.twitter.com/2zOPyK9fEw
— Overtime (@overtime) April 6, 2022
Westbrick pulls up from 2 feet �� pic.twitter.com/S93cDotzoW
— YouWereSoWrong (@YouWereSooWrong) April 6, 2022
One last look at a season Lakers fans will want to forget �� pic.twitter.com/A59xhdNcKb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 6, 2022
Lakers Twitter after being eliminated from play in contention: pic.twitter.com/C1TSXctrMk
— The Pettiest Laker Fan �� (@ThePettiestLA) April 6, 2022
NBA fans watching the Lakers get eliminated from the playoffs:
(h/t @85SouthShow) pic.twitter.com/HRhSiPeEYi
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 6, 2022
Suns eliminating the lakers for the 2nd straight year in a row pic.twitter.com/o3Xm4KYukB
— Billy Baker (@_moneyt) April 6, 2022
Russell Westbrook’s addition was a disaster. Anthony Davis couldn’t stay healthy. The veterans failed to step up. LeBron put up huge numbers, most of them in garbage time. Frank Vogel never had a clue.
It’s hard to point out the one single thing that doomed the Lakers’ season. They had bad luck, struggled with injuries, the coach wasn’t too helpful, and their body language was off. It doesn’t matter anymore.
The worst part is that the Lakers‘ tough salary cap situation will only make it quite tricky to reshape this roster in the offseason, especially if they’re unable to offload Westbrook’s mammoth deal.
LeBron still has one year left in his deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent, so the front office better get to work if they want him to extend his stay in Los Angeles beyond the 2022-23 campaign.
This time, however, all decisions should be made by those in charge of the team, even if that means standing up to a guy that’s been known for shaping rosters at will throughout his entire career.
