{"id":161650,"date":"2025-10-06T09:43:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=161650"},"modified":"2026-03-10T22:55:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T02:55:33","slug":"lakers-warriors-lebron-curry-closer-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/06\/lakers-warriors-lebron-curry-closer-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers vs Warriors: LeBron or Curry, Who\u2019s Closer to Another Ring?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors faced each other in a preseason game that didn\u2019t disappoint. LeBron James<\/a> was absent from this one, but we can expect great battles between him and Steph Curry<\/a> this season. Both are on the tail end of their careers and have four championship rings on their resume. Which one of them has a better chance of getting a fifth ring? Which of these two teams will win the title this season? Let\u2019s compare the Lakers and Warriors and see which of these teams has a better team that can compete with the best in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

Lakers vs Warriors: LeBron or Curry, Who\u2019s Closer to Another Ring?<\/h2>\n

Last season, both the Lakers and the Warriors made a big trade. The Lakers got Luka Doncic<\/a>, while the Warriors got Jimmy Butler<\/a>. This summer, they both improved around the edges, bringing in some veteran help to compete for a title. But which team has an advantage? We will take a look at different aspects.<\/p>\n

Better Third Option<\/h3>\n

Right now, the LA Lakers have the better third option, at least on the offensive end. After Curry and Butler, the Warriors have no consistent, reliable scorer who can give you 15 to 20 points. Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> has a chance to be that, but we will have to wait and see his role this year. The Lakers, on the other hand, can be confident that, at least during the regular season, Austin Reaves<\/a> is that guy. He topped 20 points per game last season, but his production fell in the playoffs. He is now in a contract year, and after a full training camp with Luka and LeBron, he should be more comfortable in his role.<\/p>\n

Bench Help<\/h3>\n

This is one area where the Warriors should have the advantage over the Lakers. At the beginning of last season, the Warriors were among the best teams in the league thanks to their bench. They played 10 to 11 guys and were able to have fresh defenders to pressure opponents through the entire game. However, injuries shrank their rotation, and they couldn\u2019t continue with that type of defense. If Moses Moody<\/a> and Kuminga make a leap, the Warriors will have two young rotation pieces coming off their bench. Moody showed he can be counted on in the Lakers-Warriors preseason matchup.<\/p>\n

On the Lakers’ side, there are more questions than answers<\/a>. Can Dalton Knecht<\/a> give them anything this season? Since that failed trade last season, he has been on a downward spiral. What about Gabe Vincent<\/a>? Does Marcus Smart<\/a> still have anything left in the tank? Will Jarred Vanderbilt<\/a> improve his shooting so that the Lakers can play him?<\/p>\n

The Warriors, at the very least, have Moody and Brandin Podziemski<\/a>, who can provide extra scoring. And if De\u2019Anthony Melton<\/a> is as good as he was at the beginning of last season, they will have even more weapons<\/a>. Buddy Hield<\/a> is a streaky scorer, but when he gets hot, he can score 20+ points easily.<\/p>\n

Defense Wins Championships<\/h3>\n

Last season, both the Lakers and the Warriors had a one-month stretch when they had the best defense in the league. For the Lakers, that was before the trade deadline. The Warriors had the best defense after the Butler trade.<\/p>\n

Both teams have a former Defensive Player of the Year winner on their roster, and they have some great individual defenders. But we can give a slight advantage to the Warriors after they brought in Al Horford<\/a>. He is another big man who can orchestrate a defense and protect the paint. Despite his age, he can still provide 15 to 20 minutes of solid defense.<\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 biggest issue in the playoffs and at the end of last season was rim protection. Deandre Ayton<\/a> should help, and at least he doesn\u2019t commit silly fouls. But their interior defense and rebounding might be a challenge this season as well.<\/p>\n

Which Team Can Improve the Most Through the Season?<\/h3>\n

Or in other words, which team can pull off a trade<\/a> that will improve their chances of competing? Right now, both the Warriors and the Lakers seem like a step behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets, and the Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n

They are in that second tier of teams that can compete for a championship. However, they either need one more piece, a lucky draw, or an injury to a competitor.<\/p>\n

Of the two, the Warriors might have a higher ceiling. That is all betting on Kuminga<\/a>, and whether he can either grow into a consistent option or deliver a good value in a trade. The Warriors also have better assets for a deal, more first-round draft picks<\/a>, and young players with value.<\/p>\n

With the current rosters, the Lakers look like a team with a better chance of competing for a title. And it seems like the oddsmakers favor them as well. Right now, the Lakers have the third-best odds in the Western Conference at +1400. The Warriors, on the other hand, have the seventh-best odds, behind teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers at +2700.<\/p>\n

There will be four Lakers-Warriors games throughout the regular season. And we know those duels between Steph and LeBron are legendary. But who will last longer in the summer? Which of those two will play in May and maybe June? Let\u2019s wait and see.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors faced each other in a preseason game that didn\u2019t disappoint. LeBron James was absent from this one, but we can expect great battles between him and Steph Curry this season. Both are on the tail end of their careers and have four championship rings on their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5291,"featured_media":161657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,25,26,62],"tags":[4556,4297,38,48],"class_list":["post-161650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-warriors","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-austin-reaves","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-lebron-james","tag-stephen-curry"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161650"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180942,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161650\/revisions\/180942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}