The Los Angeles Lakers have a new center, a new supporting cast, and for the first time since 2018, no LeBron James.
That prompted former Lakers and Clippers forward Matt Barnes to give them a new nickname.
Welcome to the “Snowtime Lakers.”
Luka Doncic #77 and Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers hold hands during a time out in the second half of a game against the Chicago Bulls at Crypto.com Arena on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Getty Images
With James now in Philadelphia and the franchise fully committed to building around Luka Doncic, the Lakers spent the offseason reshaping the roster around him.
They traded two first round picks and two pick swaps for Walker Kessler, giving them the imposing big man to pair with Doncic they’ve coveted for two seasons.
They re-signed Austin Reaves and assembled a supporting cast that has shooting, size, and compliments the new big three nicely.
Barnes took one look at the roster and delivered the line of the summer.
“They’re calling them the ‘Snowtime Lakers,'” Barnes told the California Post in a recent exclusive interview.
The former Lakers forward and current “All the Smoke” co-host laughed at the nickname, a play on the Lakers’ famed “Showtime” era and the collection of white players—seven to be exact—surrounding Doncic.
But beneath the joke was the same question hanging over this roster entering the 2027-28 season that was asked last season.
Can they defend?
“Anytime you’ve got Luka and AR at the head, you’ve got two tremendously score-driven guards,” Barnes said. “I’m someone who looks at defense, so I want to see how they’re able to round out this roster and be able to protect the basket.”
Matt Barnes on Thursday, August 20, 2026. Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Barnes isn’t the only former Laker asking how this team will defend either.
Four former Lakers — Barnes, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper and Robert Horry — spoke separately with the California Post about the franchise’s first season fully immersed in the Doncic era. All four see considerable offensive firepower. Several also see the potential fault line beneath it.
Scott put it most succinctly.
“You’re going to be able to score, but can you stop anybody?”
That question carries particular weight coming from Scott, a three-time champion with the Lakers who played during the Showtime era and was a formidable perimeter defender. Basketball has evolved dramatically since then, but Scott believes one championship ingredient has survived every stylistic revolution.
“NBA champions — it hasn’t changed in 40 years,” Scott said. “The teams that normally win the NBA championship are normally teams in the top five in defensive efficiency as well.”
Scott praised several of the Lakers’ offseason moves and is particularly intrigued by their first-round draft pick Cameron Carr out of Baylor. The athletic youngster was acquired in a multi-team draft day deal that sent the draft rights to Sergio De Larrea, the 25th overall pick, and cash considerations to the New York Knicks. Scott praised the move, and believes Carr can contribute on both ends of the floor immediately.
Cameron Carr of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of a California Classic NBA Summer League game at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on July 3, 2026. Getty Images
Still, he cautioned against treating the current roster as a finished product.
“I don’t think the book is totally written,” Scott said. “We’ve just got to wait and see.”
Cooper, an 8-time NBA All Defense selection, and one of the greatest perimeter defenders in Lakers history, was considerably more bullish.
Put this roster on paper, Cooper said, and championship expectations should follow.
“You’ve got two players who can go out and get 50 on any given night in Reaves and Luka,” Cooper said. “They’re going to be the nucleus of what the new Lakers are about as far as winning a championship. I don’t see anything less.”
That leaves the Lakers trying to construct everything else around them — defense, rebounding, rim protection and enough grit to survive the nights when the jumpers aren’t falling.
Horry believes they may have found some of that nastiness.
The seven-time NBA champion jokingly admitted his college allegiance to Alabama initially made embracing former Auburn center Kessler difficult. Purple and gold, apparently, can heal old SEC rivalry wounds.
“My heart says I can’t root for Walker Kessler because he went to Auburn, but now I have to,” Horry said.
Horry was particularly enthusiastic about Quentin Grimes, whom he described as a “nasty, gritty guy.”
“There’s a saying that we like to say: You’ve got to bring some nasty to the game,” Horry said. “I think that’s one of the things that he will do.”
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić leaves the InterContinental Hotel for a team dinner during the Lakers’ team mini camp. Andrej Tarfila/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
For the first time, there is no ambiguity about whose Lakers these are.
James is gone. Doncic is healthy. Reaves is back. Kessler is waiting around the rim and a new roster has been constructed around the superstar the franchise believes can carry it into its next championship era.
Whether the “Snowtime Lakers” can win a championship will ultimately depend on something far less catchy than a hilarious new nickname.
They already know they can score.
Now they have to prove they can play defense.
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