The Los Angeles Lakers have two of the biggest stars in the sport in LeBron James and Luka Donćič. And according to Lakers head coach JJ Redick, this has made the Lakers a team that opponents circle on the calendar.
Throughout the 2024-25 season, Lakers fans have passionately defended a conspiracy theory on social media that injured players nearing a return specifically make sure that their first game back comes against the Lakers.
This topic reemerged on social media on Saturday ahead of the Lakers’ upcoming matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been without star point guard Ja Morant, missing the last two weeks of action with a lingering hamstring injury.
Like clockwork, Morant was listed as a game-time decision and eventually took the court in Saturday’s matchup. But this is seemingly something that Redick was expecting, detailing in a conversation with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he actually had the Lakers’ analytic team look into the matter.
While some believe that this theory may be purely a coincidence, Redick says that the data actually backs up the fact that there is some validity to the theory.
“I think it’s like 86% of [opposing] payroll has been available to [play] us this year, which is by far No. 1 in the league,” Redick told McMenamin.
JJ Redick said the Lakers’ analytics dept looked into the internet fan theory that opposing team players suddenly get healthy when it’s time to play L.A. “I think it’s like 86% of [opposing] payroll has been available to [play] us this year, which is by far No. 1 in the league”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 29, 2025
Interestingly, this is not the first time that a member of the Lakers has spoken about this theory.
Luka Donćič commented on the matter after a game earlier in March against the Los Angeles Clippers. When Norman Powell returned from a lengthy injury, Donćič detailed that he fully believes that teams are looking ahead to games against the Lakers.
“I didn’t believe it before, but I think so,” said Donćič. “They say somebody is out for a long time, and then they play against the Lakers. I didn’t believe it for a long time, but it’s Lakers, so that’s normal.”
Those who believe in this theory got even further validation in Saturday’s game, as Morant did indeed make his return from injury in the game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.