That’s the verdict of NBA GameTime’s Greg Anthony.
LeBron will face the Warriors for the first time as a Laker at Oracle Arena on Christmas Day, 5pm PST (1am Boxing Day UK time).
The four-time MVP has met Golden State in all of the last four NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, losing three times – including earlier this year as the Cavs were swept 4-0 – but defeating the Warriors in 2016 to earn his hometown team a first ever title.
It is the Warriors who the Lakers are looking to overtake as the league’s team to beat – though it is widely expected Steve Kerr’s team will achieve a ‘three-peat’ this year.
They remain the favourites to come out victorious in the Western Conference although they have endured a below-par first quarter of the season having lost 11 times.
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Yet their star-studded starting five – which currently boasts four All-Stars and could boast five by playoff time when DeMarcus Cousins is healthy – means they are still the benchmark in the NBA.
And the Lakers will be looking to make what would be a massive statement by downing Golden State in their own home to spread the festive cheer back in southern California.
But Anthony believes the game will also take on long-term importance, in that it will help to show whether LeBron’s younger team-mates are psychologically ready for the tougher tests they will face in comparison to previous years.
LA have gone five years without playing in the playoffs but are well on course to make their return to the post season this year – but Anthony feels while he is well prepared to lead them, time is slowly ticking on his peak performance.
“This isn’t LeBron going to Miami when he’s smack-dab in the middle of his prime. He’s still probably getting better,” Anthony told GameTime as they previewed Lakers at Warriors.
“While his game is phenomenal, you’ve got to assume if you’re LA, that four-year contract [LeBron signed when he joined] – ‘That’s our window!’ They can’t afford to take steps back.
“’We’ve got to make sure we keep pushing the envelope forward here.’ I do think there’s going to be a little bit more of a sense of urgency.
“That’s why I think you saw Magic Johnson have the conversation with Luke Walton early in the season about not so much where they were winning and losing games but how they were playing.
“I think they understand, ‘We have to be in championship mode now. Not so much we have to win it but we have to have that mindset, that mentality, we have to bring that pressure to our locker room to see if our young players can handle it.’
“When expectations rise, not everybody’s comfortable with that and that’s what they want to find out as well as they start really dissecting their roster and planning for the future.”
The Lakers are 19-13 for the season and before taking on the Warriors on Christmas Day face the 10th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies 6.30pm PST (2.30am UK time).