With the 2025-26 NBA season rapidly approaching, fans of the Los Angeles Lakers have been fiercely debating how good JJ Redick's current squad is versus the rest of the Western Conference.

With the reigning NBA Champions currently calling the conference home, and teams like the Houston Rockets making major moves to get better, the West is going to be a hard one to win, but in the opinion of ESPN's Kendrick Perkins , the Lakers have a real shot at doing just that.

That's right, in an appearance on Road Trippin Perkins broke down where LA fits on the Western Conference road map, and why, at full strength, the Lakers are as dangerous as almost anyone .

“In my opinion the Lakers are the third-best team in the NBA. All three teams that I have that are top three are in the Western Con

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