Power-ranking the 10 biggest challengers to the Lakers in 2020-21

When the Lakers look to repeat as NBA champs in 2021, who will be their greatest challengers?

After one of the most bizarre and unorthodox postseasons ever, the Los Angeles Lakers are 2020 NBA champions.

It’s a difficult championship to gauge, even before diving into how it impacts the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James GOAT conversation. Factoring in the four-month hiatus just before the playoffs, plus having to live in a bubble for three months while navigating social justice issues and a global pandemic, the mental strain of this playoff run was greater than any other in NBA history.

And yet, the Lakers were never truly tested. They faced a sub-.500 Portland Trail Blazers team with a non-existent defense in the first round; the most combustible team in the league in the Houston Rockets; the happy-to-be-there comeback king Denver Nuggets; and a banged up, underdog Miami Heat squad that only earned the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference on a 49-win pace.

None of that diminishes LeBron’s fourth title or the Lakers’ 17th; but it does make it difficult to evaluate their place in NBA history, assess how they would’ve fared in a normal, non-COVID interrupted postseason where they actually had to face the LA Clippers and/or Milwaukee Bucks, or determine what their title defense will look like.

Now that the 2019-20 campaign — the longest in NBA history — is over, it’s only natural to wonder what the 2020-21 season will look like … and when it will begin. This will be an unconventional offseason, and we’re sure to see some notable player movement, but with the Lakers’ dominant title run lacking a real challenge, the big question is: Who is the biggest threat to unseat LA next year, in a (hopefully) more normal season?

Here are the 10 contenders most likely to present a formidable challenge to the reigning champs.