NBA Fantasy Preview 2021-22: Los Angeles Lakers
October 7, 2021
In a 30-part series leading up to the start of the 2021-22 National Basketball Association season, we will take a look at each NBA franchise from a fantasy perspective. The 14th team we will review is the Los Angeles Lakers.
After being eliminated in six games by the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 Western Conference quarterfinals, the Los Angeles Lakers made significant noise in the offseason as they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers now have a legitimate big three and Westbrook gives James a legitimate opportunity to win his fifth NBA Finals. At age 36, James is the best player in the last two decades, and still has legitimate fantasy value. The reason is because of his marvelous versatility. For fantasy purposes, James is  a point guard, shooting guard and small forward.
In 2020-21, James ranked 17th among small forwards, 17th among  point guards and 18th among shooting guards with 1806 fantasy points.* He had a field goal percentage of .513, free throw percentage of .698, 1126 points, 104 three-points made, 346 rebounds, 350 assists, 48 steals and 168 turnovers. One must realize James put together these numbers in only 45 games, as he missed 26 games with an ankle injury. So, James was still averaging an impressive 40.1 fantasy points per game.
Westbrook meanwhile is the fourth best point guard in the NBA, behind Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers. Westbrook is a fantasy dream to be honest because of his regular triple doubles. In 2020-21, he passed the great Oscar Robertson into first place all-time in this statistical category. Westbrook’s 763 assists led the NBA, but a reason why he was only fourth among point guards is because he also led the NBA with 312 turnovers.
The Lakers will also be counting on Davis to be a powerful force in the paint. The 28-year-old from Chicago missed significant time last year due to calf, heel and groin injuries. Where Davis is a fantasy asset is in the blocks category. In three separate seasons while with the New Orleans Pelicans, Davis led the NBA in blocks per game, and has averaged 2.3 blocks per game in 564 regular season games.
*Please note: To calculate NBA fantasy points for point guards, shooting guards and small forwards, I use the formula (3PTM+Points+Rebounds+Assists+Steals-Turnovers). For power forwards and centers, I use the formula (Points+Rebounds+Assists+Steals+Blocks-Turnovers).
Fill In The Form Below To Receive Our NBA News Straight To Your Email For FREE!
September 12, 2025
Opinion: Josh Giddey may not deserve to be the Bulls highest paid player
The Chicago Bulls made NBA headlines on Tuesday by signing of point guard Josh Giddey to a four year contract worth $100 million Giddey was a restricted free agent, and will keep him in Chicago Read MoreSeptember 12, 2025
Thunder rookie Thomas Sorber out for the season with torn ACL
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending NBA champions It appears they will once again rely on their winning nucleus from last year significantly this season That is because their first round Read MoreSeptember 4, 2025
Opinion: We could see Dawn Staley coaching in the NBA soon
This past week in the National Basketball Association we found out that the New York Knicks had interviewed Dawn Staley of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for their head coaching job We all know that the Read More
Tell Us What You Think Below