On October 23, Beijing time, the NBA regular season officially opened, and the Lakers will face the Timberwolves at home to start the season opener, and James arrived 4 hours in advance to prepare for the game. It is worth mentioning that the Lakers have suffered 7 consecutive losses in the opener, can James and Thick Eyebrows break the curse today?

The American media listed the Lakers' performance in the opening game in the past 7 years -

92-108 loss to the Clippers in 2017; 119-128 loss to the Trail Blazers in 2018; 102-112 loss to the Clippers in 2019; 109-116 loss to the Clippers in 2020; 114-121 loss to Warriors in 2021; 109-123 loss to Warriors in 2022; Lost 107-119 to the Nuggets in 2023.

Considering the ratings of the opening game, the first opponent that the league has arranged for the Lakers will naturally not be an underdog, which also poses a challenge for the Lakers. This time, the Timberwolves, who had a 56-26 record last season and finished third in the West, are also difficult to deal with. In the four regular season meetings with the Lakers, the Timberwolves won 3-1.

One potential variable is that the Timberwolves traded Towns for Randle and DiVincenzo, and the new roster needs to be put together, while the Lakers' core roster is relatively unchanged, can they end the seven-game losing streak in the opener?

The last time the Lakers won their opener was in the 2016-17 season. It was the first year after Kobe Bryant's retirement, and the Lakers were 26-56, and although the record was not ideal, they still won the opening game. On October 27, 2016, the Lakers defeated Harden's Rockets 120-114 in the opener.

In that game, Harden scored 34 points, 7 rebounds and 17 assists, the Lakers' bench Larkson scored a team-high 25 points, Russell contributed 20 points, and Randle had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Now, Clarkson is playing for the Jazz, Russell is playing for the Lakers for the second time, and Randle has just joined the Timberwolves.