Colin Cowherd is so wrong to think the Lakers aren’t a championship team

Colin Cowherd said Monday that the Lakers aren’t a championship team since they lack an elite third option, but that may not be an issue in a crowded field.

Colin Cowherd reasoned on Monday that the Lakers lack an elite third option, they should not be considered a championship contender, but while this logic may have held up in previous years, this statement fails to account for the relatively crowded field of title contenders in 2020.

Cowherd pointed out that in past years, the league champion has always had an All-Star-caliber third option. Whether it be Klay Thompson, Kyle Lowry or Chris Bosh, the third man behind two elite players usually turns the tide of a Finals series.

The Lakers are definitely a championship contender as long as LeBron is healthy

His logic is not necessarily wrong, but it fails to consider the state of the NBA. When looking at the top teams in each conference, none have an indisputably elite third option. Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers is the closest thing to it, but he’s never made an All-Star game and could have conditioning questions when he leaves quarantine.

Eric Bledsoe of the Bucks doesn’t necessarily qualify either, and Khris Middleton is not the same caliber of sidekick as Anthony Davis or Paul George even if Bledsoe is a stronger third option than most.

There’s certainly an argument for a Boston Celtics big three of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Jaylen Brown, but even that trio cannot match the star power of teams like the Bucks, Lakers, and Clippers.

Simply put, the NBA does not have a true big three this year. The offseason saw many players opt to join just one elite running mate, and the playoff field has a great degree of parity as a result. For Cowherd to say that a Lakers team led by arguably two of the league’s top five players is not a championship contender just ignores the competition.

The Clippers are certainly capable of matching the Lakers in a seven-game series, but the two teams are relatively even and both are bonafide Finals contenders. With team structures shifting from elite trios to duos, the Lakers have one of the best and should be well-positioned to bring home their 17th championship.