The SportsEthos Los Angeles Lakers Podcast

The NBA season is over, the Denver Nuggets are your NBA Champions, let the off-season begin! JC takes you through where his mind is as far as this Lakers team is, what the Lakers priorities should be, he praises Austin Reaves a lot (as he should). He also brings up that there might be a changing of the guard(s?) as far as how teams philosophically build their rosters going forward. Is Golden State...

The up and down season is over, and not on a positive note but a nebulous one. After a 4-0 sweep by the Denver Nuggets, suddenly LeBron looks old and is talking retirement. Anthony Davis isn't an everyday superstar, Reaves might be too expensive to retain and history might repeat itself if the Lakers go after a high priced point guard at the expense of their young core. JC takes you through wh...

Let’s just call it what it appears to be: The Lakers have run out of gas. D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder have been more invisible than Casper, Jamal Murray is hotter than a sizzling fajita skillet at your favorite Mexican restaurant, and when Nikola Jokic is a footnote and the Lakers still can’t figure it out, it’s not a good sign for what’s about to come. The Lakers are caught somewhere in...

The Lakers are now four wins away from reaching the NBA Finals, and eight wins away from securing another championship. As our old friend Shaquille O’Neal would say: “CAN YOU DIG IT?!” LeBron might be the third oldest player in the league, but he continues to show why he’s unlike anyone or anything we have ever seen. Anthony Davis turned a couple of narratives on their heads, Austin Reaves is back...

Lakers are one win from the Western Conference Finals! From a 2-10 start to the season to the brink of the Western Conference Finals. Who would have thought? JC takes you through the win last night and the masterful night off the bench for Lonnie Walker IV, a night off the bench no one's seen since one Kobe Bean Bryant did it way back in '97. A lot more in this episode, you won't want...

Lakers came out in full force in Game 1 vs the Golden State Warriors in a hardfought 117-112 victory that easily could've gone either way. Anthony Davis continues to be a dominant, Shaq-like force to the tune of a 30/20 game with 4 blocks. Jarred Vanderbilt made life as difficult as one can vs Steph Curry (Steph still hit a few threes) but was admirable in his effort. JC takes you through the...

“If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR!”  The Lakers are heading to the second round on the cusp of a 40 (!) point win, and the only thing fans are still waiting for is Dillon Brooks to say something to the “media that made him a villain.” D’Angelo Russell was sensational, Anthony Davis enjoyed his non-championship Lakers signature moment, and LeBron James re...

After a record-tying first quarter saw the Lakers lead by 26 points, Ethan takes to the mic to break down how the Lakers built up such a substantial lead in front of the team's first capacity playoff crowd in a decade! SUBSCRIBE, Rate and Review on iTunes  and make sure to  follow @EthosLakers on Twitter  for all our delightful updates and goodies! PropUp on ThriveFantasy this NBA season! Use...

The emotions have been digested, Anthony Davis does not have a career-ending injury, and the Lakers are suddenly appear to be in the driver’s seat following a Game 1 road win in Memphis. Ahead of Game 2, Ethan and JC are back to discuss the rise of Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves indeed being HIM, and how these Lakers not needing LeBron’s name in the headline is the best thing possible for sustainabl...

The Lakers are in! The playoffs are officially underway and the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the upstart Memphis Grizzlies. After a disappointing win (can a win ever really be disappointing?) against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers have a lot to work on. What can Lakers fans look forward to seeing in this series against the Grizzlies? JC has the answers in this solo celebration of the La...

Anthony Davis is in his bag, the Lakers are finding their stride, and a possibility to win-out has Los Angeles with eyes on playing out of the play-in to begin their 2023 postseason journey.  Ethan & JC are back together to discuss the rise of Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves as MUCH more than a novelty, and to give The Brow his flowers for carrying HIS team forward.  With a 38-28 record since a 2...

The Lakers are entering the final 9 games of the season. 9 must-win games. Can they win them all? Heaven knows, but what we do know for sure is that J.C. De Leon will go over how The Lakers have looked lately, go over the schedule for the remainder of the regular season as well as look at the schedules for the teams hovering in that 4 through 12 range of the wacky Western conference standings. Enj...

A 2-10 start had even the most faithful fans fretting, but the Lakers—somehow, someway, through all of the injuries, bumps, and bruises—find themselves in the playoffs…and it’s happening without LeBron James. Anthony Davis is flashing the dominance that we saw from him to open the season, Austin Reaves is really stepping into his confidence, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts in La...

Lakers are heading in the right direction, currently in the #11 spot in the Western Conference rankings and climbing. But is it a tough road ahead? JC takes a look at the entire remaining schedule and highlights a few of the Lakers who are going to help lead the team into the Playoffs as LeBron recovers from an injured foot. SUBSCRIBE, Rate and Review on iTunes  and make sure to  follow @EthosLake...

The Lakers are on fire and Jarred Vanderbilt is gassing the fan favorite flames, but LeBron James’ foot will keep the pressure on Anthony Davis to keep the spotlight on his Lakers. Chemistry and camaraderie are high in Lakeland, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the group as March comes into focus, and how long James is forced to the sidelines will be a major story on a day-to-day basis....

The Lakers are fun again! I'll say it again, the Lakers are fun again! A fully complete roster, all with pieces that fit extremely well together, for two games now they have operated like a well oiled machine. The newly reconstructed roster was able to withstand an off-night from AD and LeBron James who combined to shoot 8-25 but no matter, Malik Beasley and Austin Reaves to the rescue! A real...

The NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone, and Lakers fans everywhere are asking the same question: Do we owe Rob Pelinka an apology? The error (no typo) of Russell Westbrook is over, the Lakers have a significantly deeper team than they’ve had at any point this season, and the ice in D’Angelo Russell’s veins might just be what this Lakers team needs to solidify its standing as a playoff contender....

Witness has been a word we've long used with LeBron, but The Kid From Akron made Los Angeles his own upon setting the all-time scoring record in the house that Kobe Bryant built.  The math behind the accomplishment is remarkable: Make no mistake, this is the greatest individual record in professional sports that we will ever witness being broken.  As magical as the moment was, the Lakers suffe...

It's an exciting time to be a Lakers fan. It's an even more exciting time to be a LeBron James fan. As of this writing he is 89 points away from becoming the number 1 all-time leading scorer in the NBA, passing fellow Laker Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! JC goes in on this solo episode to tackle that story as well as more Lakers trade rumors, and how's that trade for Rui Hachimura been wo...

Rui Hachimura, come on down! Rob Pelinka must have found some Zen Master magic dust up in Jeannie Buss’s office, because there’s no way this happened without divine intervention.  The Lakers are again on the upswing, LeBron is beating down history’s door, and Anthony Davis is poised to rejoin the club in the coming days. With two big wins in the bag and this club really believing in itself, it’s h...

One thing that's been evident this season that was sorely lacking last season was good old fashioned effort. Times have been tough but this year's Lakers team has competed. That resilience showed on Friday night as they staged a late 4th quarter comeback vs the young Memphis Grizzlies, 2nd seed in the West. JC takes you through a solo edition as he recaps the win, and goes over some of the...

The Lakers have won five in a row to begin 2023, LeBron James is setting a new standard for greatness, and his hints to the front office have become anything but subtle as the Lakers have turned around their season. Ethan is back to dive into the five-game win streak, the incredible performance Thomas Bryant is delivering, how Russell Westbrook has redeemed himself, and why this version of Dennis...

The holidays have the Lakers’ rollercoaster is again turning in another direction, and the emotional drain has already been enough for a full season.  Ethan is back with an overdue episode to discuss everything from AD to LeBron, the standard for greatness, the problems with silence from the front office, and how Austin Reaves became the Lakers’ second best available player.  It’s not often Ethan...

The Lakers are on the cusp of officially turning around their season, Anthony Davis is playing his best brand of basketball in a Lakers uniform, and the noise to trade Russell Westbrook is lessening by the day.  Ethan and JC dive into the state of this Lakers team after their best win in two years and a 2-0 start to the road trip. With the unofficial start of the trade season just around the corne...

This is the player Lakers fans have been waiting for. This is the franchise icon that was meant to carry the Lakers through LeBron’s final years. This is the leader the Lakers have needed on and off the court since their championship in the bubble.  8-12 feels A LOT different than 2-10, and while there is still a lot of challenging work ahead, the Lakers are finally starting to look like a cohesiv...