If you ask the general sports fan, the Los Angeles Lakers are far from a contender at this stage of the game. It’s an understandable stance considering Los Angeles lost 4-1 in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

One of the most fascinating facts about Los Angeles, however, is that the team is not as far away from the title as some might think.

Los Angeles made questionable decisions in the 2024 offseason that cannot be dismissed as irrelevant. Teams that refuse to adjust their roster usually regress, even when they made an undeniably influential decision to change head coach.

However, the current roster has been better than the 47-win 2023-24 season suggested, and there are three key reasons to believe so.

It might not be too surprising that a team featuring Anthony Davis and LeBron James scored at will, but it’s one of the most underrated facts in NBA circles that the Lakers were actually an elite offensive team in the 2023-24 season – when they weren’t shooting themselves in the foot.

Los Angeles finished 15th in overall offensive rating, but to leave it at that would be to underestimate their abilities – and even their successes.

For example, from February 1 through the end of the regular season, the Lakers had the third-best offensive rating in the NBA. Los Angeles was also No. 8 in the Association in three-point shots made throughout the 2023-24 regular season.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles also ranked 28th in attempts – a shining example of how many self-inflicted wounds must be taken into account when evaluating the Lakers.

It’s even more compelling when you consider that the Lakers accomplished this without two of their top three defenders, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent. Even if Vanderbilt and Vincent, who played 40 games combined in 2023-24, struggle on offense, they will create greater balance with their defensive influence.

If the Lakers are truly the team they have been since February 1, they are much closer to winning the title than they seem – and their accomplishments beyond simply scoring goals prove it.

In February 2024, the Lakers were the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. Things didn’t get much better from there, as the team simply had too much catching up to do after starting the season 24-25.

However, one of the best-kept secrets of Lakers skeptics is that the Lakers have been nothing short of an elite team since February, posting a 23-10 record in their last 33 games.

That 23-10 record equates to a winning percentage of .697 — the equivalent of a 57-win season in an 82-game format. That would put the Lakers in a tie for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and results from February onwards back up the claim that they were playing at that level.

During this period, the Lakers won against the Boston Celtics, LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Unfortunately, the inconsistency from the beginning of the season showed up again, forcing the Lakers to face the one team they simply can’t beat: the Denver Nuggets. One wonders how differently the Lakers’ 2023-24 season would have been perceived had they faced a different team in the playoffs.

There’s no guarantee the Lakers would have beaten any of the other Western Conference contenders, but they ended up playing just as well as them – and even fared well against them head-to-head.

One of the most compelling points in the Lakers’ title hopes is that the Denver Nuggets are the only contender in the Western Conference that is truly superior to them. Others have won more than they have lost against the Lakers, but there are plenty of promising signs on that front.

It all starts with the fact that the Lakers are 7-2 in their last nine meetings against the Oklahoma City Thunder – including three straight wins during the 2023-24 regular season when OKC secured first place in the Western Conference.

The No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Lakers 3-1 in 2023-24, but even that is important context. All three of the Timberwolves’ wins were by 10 points or less, including a 108-106 victory at Minnesota.

In addition, Los Angeles defeated Minnesota 120-109 in March, and the April loss occurred without LeBron James.

As for the reigning Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks have won their last three games against the Lakers by a combined six-point margin. The last time they played, Los Angeles won 127-110. The Mavericks have improved since then, but the Lakers have also changed their head coach.

The Nuggets are clearly superior to the Lakers, but the direct duels with the other competitors in the Western Conference were much closer than some might assume.

But maybe the gap is just as small – an interesting thought considering the Lakers were hampered by injuries and a head coach the players didn’t seem to think much of.