The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few teams that can’t afford to take their foot off the gas every now and then. No matter what the franchise’s situation is, a good performance against the Lakers is a legacy, especially when playing in Los Angeles.
It’s also the simple reality of being a 17-time NBA champion: Other teams are going to view you as a rival simply because you’ve been a long-time opponent of them.
The Lakers know this as well as any organization in professional sports. Unfortunately, despite their brilliant performance, there is a long list of examples of teams that have managed to get the better of Los Angeles, and on multiple occasions.
Heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, these five teams have the longest active winning streaks against the Lakers.
4. . T-4. . . . . 110. . 2 consecutive losses
The latest losing streak against the Miami Heat is tied for fourth on this list, bringing the total to five. Los Angeles and Miami, who met in the 2020 NBA Finals, have reversed course since that series.
The Heat have now won two straight games against the Lakers, going 6-2 in the last eight meetings between the two teams.
One of the losses was particularly heartbreaking, as Los Angeles fell 108–107 on November 6, 2023, in Miami. The Lakers outscored the Heat 28–18 in the fourth quarter, but ultimately failed to complete the process of closing the gap and securing the victory.
Miami then won 110-96 at Los Angeles to snap a two-game winning streak on Jan. 3, 2024.
4. . . . 66. T-4. . 2 consecutive losses. .
The Phoenix Suns, one of the many rivals on this list, have gotten the better of the Lakers in recent matchups. Luckily, this one is actually a little easier to stomach than the others, as the two straight losses followed a dominant run in this rivalry by the Lakers.
Before losing two games to Phoenix in January and February 2024, Los Angeles had actually won five straight games against its longtime foes.
The rivalry between the Lakers and Suns dates back to 1970, when the two teams first met in the playoffs. In total, they have faced each other in 13 playoff series, with Los Angeles coming out on top eight times.
That doesn’t make back-to-back defeats to a bitter rival acceptable, but at least it softens the blow. Or so we tell ourselves.
. . 41. 3. . . 3. 3 Direct losses. .
Another rival appears on this list, as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors gave the Lakers a run for their money in 2023-24. Los Angeles actually eliminated Golden State from the playoffs in 2022-23, but since then, it’s been the Warriors who have dominated.
The Warriors have now won three straight games against the Lakers, with Los Angeles’ defense giving up points every time Golden State wanted to.
The Warriors won their victories over the Lakers by scores of 128-110, 128-121 and 134-120. Los Angeles’ defenses have been putting together embarrassing performances, and Golden State has been able to exploit these poor performances at every opportunity.
In 2024-25, the Lakers’ defense will need to turn things around if it has any hope of ending this three-game losing streak against another postseason hopeful.
2. . 73. . . . 4 consecutive losses. . . 2
This loss hurts for one obvious reason: the four straight losses are only in the regular season. In addition to being 0-4 in the regular season against the Denver Nuggets since January 2023, the Lakers have failed to defeat their rivals in the playoffs.
Including the playoffs, the Nuggets have won 12 of the last 13 games they have played against the Lakers.
The regular-season losing streak is hard enough to stomach, but it’s the playoff failures that hurt the most. Los Angeles led all five games at halftime in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, but Denver ultimately won four of them.
The rivalry may rank second, but the Nuggets’ dominance over the Lakers is, by far, the most discouraging of any team on the list.
. 84. . . . . 1. 5 consecutive losses. . 1
It’s hard to be the King of California when your namesake team dominates your head-to-head matchups. Ever since the Sacramento Kings snapped the Lakers’ four-game winning streak on August 13, 2020, the rivalry has become lopsided in favor of the Northern California team.
Sacramento has now won five straight games against Los Angeles with a 12-4 record in the last 16 meetings between the two in-state rivals.
The worst part of the Lakers’ struggles against the Kings is that the last three games haven’t been particularly close. Sacramento won those games by scores of 125-110, 130-120 and 120-107.
If the Lakers want to reclaim the state, then ending the five-game losing streak to the Kings must be the top priority.
