Los Angeles Lakers Legend Makes Quick Apology After Unleashing Controversial Statement About 2024 Season

After the Lakers lost to the Nuggets in Game 5, there were plenty of narratives being made about the team. The biggest question marks were on Darvin Ham, who failed to follow up on his spectacular debut playoff campaign last season.

In on of his posts, Johnson focused on what he perceived as load management as one of the biggest reasons behind the team’s postseason troubles.

Larry Brown of Larry Brown Sports wrote about Johnson’s take on the issue:

“The Lakers have nobody but themselves to blame. They wouldn’t have been in the play-in game or finished as a 7th seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management,” Johnson wrote on X Tuesday.

It’s fair for Johnson to think that way if you looked at the number of games some players had. LeBron and AD had more than 70 games to their name, and most of the key players in their roster were available for much of the season.

Interestingly, Johnson retracted his statement the next day:

“Laker Nation, I have to apologize to the Lakers organization. It was injuries that plagued the Lakers this season, not load management,” Johnson wrote on X Wednesday.

It’s not clear why Magic backtracked on his statements, but the injuries to some of their other players might have had a say on Magic’s decision to go against his previous statement.

Regardless, it’s clear that the Los Angeles Lakers need to change something with their approach. Whether it’s load management or a total transformation of their game plan, they need to transform if they’re going to win with their current core of players.