Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking the most important players on the roster

2. LeBron James

It may be a surprise to see LeBron coming in at No. 2, but he’s no longer the most important piece for the Lakers in their pursuit for another championship. I think that was on display in last year’s playoffs. As soon as AD went down, the Lakers transformed into an entirely different team – and not in a good way.

This is not a knock on LeBron either. He’s getting older and this was the natural progression in his career. I don’t think anyone expects LeBron to defy the odds of Father Time. He’s still extremely important to the Lakers, but if AD isn’t right the entire ship sinks.

LeBron is still going to be special and do some really extraordinary things this season. The Lakers’ success simply doesn’t all fall on him anymore. And that should be considered a good thing for the Lakers – and LeBron – overall.