The Los Angeles Lakers had an extremely busy offseason, re-signing key free agents like D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura while adding some serious depth with Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes.
Many of their key pieces are the same, but they were one of the best teams in the NBA down the stretch and will be looking for avoid the early-season struggles that put them in such a deep hole last season.
While the Lakers look the part of a contender on paper, there are no shortage of tough tests waiting for them in the Western Conference — including the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the new-look Phoenix Suns, the ascendant Sacramento Kings, the reloaded Golden State Warriors and more. In fact, by one projection system based on a proprietary stat called Vegas-informed Estimate of Team Strength, the Lakers enter this season with the fourth-toughest schedule.
A big factor here is playing in the Pacific Division where the Lakers will have to play the Warriors, Clippers, Suns and Kings — all of whom are reasonable championship contenders — four times each. The NBA calendar dashboard from Positive Residual also shows that they have 12 games in their 82-game schedule where they will be at a rest disadvantage (opponent will be coming off more days of rest than the Lakers). The Orlando Magic are the only team with more games of rest disadvantage.
On paper, the toughest stretch of the schedule may be from Nov. 25 to Dec. 31 — a stretch of 16 games with 12 coming on the road, and which includes games against the Cavs, 76ers, Thunder (twice), Mavs, Knicks, Pelicans and a Christmas Day matchup against the Celtics.
Los Angeles Lakers 2023-24 full 82-game schedule:
- Tue, Oct. 24, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Denver Nuggets
- Thu, Oct. 26, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Phoenix Suns
- Sun, Oct. 29, 2023 — 9:00 p.m. — @Sacramento Kings
- Mon, Oct. 30, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Orlando Magic
- Wed, Nov. 1, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Los Angeles Clippers
- Sat, Nov. 4, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @Orlando Magic
- Mon, Nov. 6, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Miami Heat
- Wed, Nov. 8, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Houston Rockets
- Fri, Nov. 10, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — @Phoenix Suns
- Sun, Nov. 12, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Portland Trail Blazers
- Tue, Nov. 14, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Memphis Grizzlies
- Wed, Nov. 15, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Sacramento Kings
- Fri, Nov. 17, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — @Portland Trail Blazers
- Sun, Nov. 19, 2023 — 9:30 p.m. — Houston Rockets
- Tue, Nov. 21, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Utah Jazz
- Wed, Nov. 22, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Dallas Mavericks
- Sat, Nov. 25, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Cleveland Cavaliers
- Mon, Nov. 27, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @Philadelphia 76ers
- Wed, Nov. 29, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @Detroit Pistons
- Thu, Nov. 30, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Oklahoma City Thunder
- Sat, Dec. 2, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Houston Rockets
- Tue, Dec. 12, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Dallas Mavericks
- Wed, Dec. 13, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @San Antonio Spurs
- Fri, Dec. 15, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @San Antonio Spurs
- Mon, Dec. 18, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — New York Knicks
- Wed, Dec. 20, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Chicago Bulls
- Thu, Dec. 21, 2023 — 9:00 p.m. — @Minnesota Timberwolves
- Sat, Dec. 23, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Oklahoma City Thunder
- Mon, Dec. 25, 2023 — 5:00 p.m. — Boston Celtics
- Thu, Dec. 28, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Charlotte Hornets
- Sat, Dec. 30, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Minnesota Timberwolves
- Sun, Dec. 31, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @New Orleans Pelicans
- Wed, Jan. 3, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Miami Heat
- Fri, Jan. 5, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Memphis Grizzlies
- Sun, Jan. 7, 2024 — 9:30 p.m. — Los Angeles Clippers
- Tue, Jan. 9, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Toronto Raptors
- Thu, Jan. 11, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Phoenix Suns
- Sat, Jan. 13, 2024 — 9:30 p.m. — @Utah Jazz
- Mon, Jan. 15, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City Thunder
- Wed, Jan. 17, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Dallas Mavericks
- Fri, Jan. 19, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Brooklyn Nets
- Sun, Jan. 21, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Portland Trail Blazers
- Tue, Jan. 23, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Los Angeles Clippers
- Thu, Jan. 25, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Chicago Bulls
- Sat, Jan. 27, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — @Golden State Warriors
- Mon, Jan. 29, 2024 — 8:00 p.m. — @Houston Rockets
- Tue, Jan. 30, 2024 — 7:30 p.m. — @Atlanta Hawks
- Thu, Feb. 1, 2024 — 7:30 p.m. — @Boston Celtics
- Sat, Feb. 3, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — @New York Knicks
- Mon, Feb. 5, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Charlotte Hornets
- Thu, Feb. 8, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Denver Nuggets
- Fri, Feb. 9, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — New Orleans Pelicans
- Tue, Feb. 13, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Detroit Pistons
- Wed, Feb. 14, 2024 — 9:00 p.m. — @Utah Jazz
- Thu, Feb. 22, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Golden State Warriors
- Fri, Feb. 23, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — San Antonio Spurs
- Sun, Feb. 25, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. — @Phoenix Suns
- Wed, Feb. 28, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Los Angeles Clippers
- Thu, Feb. 29, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Washington Wizards
- Sat, Mar. 2, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — Denver Nuggets
- Mon, Mar. 4, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City Thunder
- Wed, Mar. 6, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Sacramento Kings
- Fri, Mar. 8, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Milwaukee Bucks
- Sun, Mar. 10, 2024 — 9:30 p.m. — Minnesota Timberwolves
- Wed, Mar. 13, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Sacramento Kings
- Sat, Mar. 16, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — Golden State Warriors
- Mon, Mar. 18, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Atlanta Hawks
- Fri, Mar. 22, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Philadelphia 76ers
- Sun, Mar. 24, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Indiana Pacers
- Tue, Mar. 26, 2024 — 7:30 p.m. — @Milwaukee Bucks
- Wed, Mar. 27, 2024 — 8:00 p.m. — @Memphis Grizzlies
- Fri, Mar. 29, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Indiana Pacers
- Sun, Mar. 31, 2024 — 6:00 p.m. — @Brooklyn Nets
- Tue, Apr. 2, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Toronto Raptors
- Wed, Apr. 3, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Washington Wizards
- Sat, Apr. 6, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. — Cleveland Cavaliers
- Sun, Apr. 7, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Minnesota Timberwolves
- Tue, Apr. 9, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Golden State Warriors
- Tue, Apr. 12, 2024 — 8:00 p.m. — @Memphis Grizzlies
- Thu, Apr. 14, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. — @New Orleans Pelicans
The remaining two games on the Lakers' schedule will be determined based on the results of the inaugural In-Season Tournament which begins in November.
