Making 5 predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023

The Los Angeles Lakers franchise never seems to have a dullmoment, and you can bet the roller coaster will continue in2023.

With another year gone by and 2022 officially in the rearviewmirror, it’s time for the purple and gold to look ahead. Similar tothe seven trade scenarios we looked atin last week's article, I've decided to predict five thingsthat could happen with the Lakers in the new year.

Let's take a look.

LeBron James will break the NBA's all-time scoringrecord sooner than expected

The Lakers season has been underwhelming so far, but LeBron hasnot been as he continues to play at an ultra-high level even in his20th season. And now, he’s on the verge of making history bysurpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leadingscorer.

The question wasn’t if he would break the record thisseason, but when. LeBron has stayed healthy for the mostpart this year (only missing a handful of games so far) and findshimself just 484 points away from Kareem's mark of 38,387.

If James' scoring binge continues — he’s averaging 36.6 pointsper game since Christmas, and Darvin Ham has said he will continueto ride him until Anthony Davis returns from injury — LeBron isgoing to top Kareem BEFORE the All-Star break.

Here are two dates to target, with both games at home:

The Lakers finally make a trade... just not the bigone

Going back to before the season started, Lakers' fans have beenclamoring for Rob Pelinka and the front office to make a deal. Andwhile LA has talked to a lot of teams, the franchise has yet topull the trigger.

That will change before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, but it won’tbe that big, potential-game changer that some are hoping for.