Los Angeles is home to many teams, but how are they doing?
Los Angeles is best known for the stars who live there but is also home to 12 professional sports teams. Here is a breakdown of their most recent season organized by which league ranks highest in success in my opinion.
NBA
Now that the baseball season is coming to an end, it is time for basketball to start! L.A. is home to the Clippers and Lakers. The regular season starts Oct. 24th for the Lakers in Denver. The Clippers will make their season debut at home Oct. 25th against Portland. The Lakers have many championship titles going into this new season, I personally think that if you hold a title, you have a really good chance of making it back to the playoffs.
Bleacher-Report says that “[t]he Lakers may not enter this season as the odds-on favorite, but they belong in any and every championship discussion.” I may not follow basketball but I know well enough that the Lakers can have a very successful team and season, though they may fall through at times. On the other hand, the Clippers, I don’t hear much of.
NBA writes “As usual, the season’s outlook and LA [Clippers] chance to slip through its championship window depends on stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.” Both players are returning from an injury but are reportedly ready for the opening game.
NWSL
Angel City FC is the women’s soccer team of Los Angeles. I recently got into women’s soccer and if you go to a game, you’ll understand why. The Angel City is ranked 5th in the league standings and depending on a game with Seattle’s OL Reign in the quarterfinals, they will face the San Diego Wave on Nov. 5th. Personally, I want them to win so it’s another playoff game of LA versus SD but looking at the statistics, Seattle may take this one because they have one more win where LA has a tie. In the past games played between LA and Seattle, both have a win against each other so it could be anyone’s game.
NFL
The Los Angeles Chargers currently have a record of 2-4 from the six games played so far in the season. The other SoFi Stadium team, the LA Rams, have an even record of 3-4 from the seven games played so far. Both teams are fourth in their divisions. I don’t follow football as closely as I do baseball but if the Chargers are the same Chargers from before they left San Diego in 2016-17, then I know everything I need to know.
The Chargers have always struggled in defense and according to ESPN, nothing has changed. “Through the first two weeks this season, the defense has struggled to get stops on third down, and receivers have beaten the secondary regularly for explosive plays. The Chargers have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL.”
The Rams on the other hand, I know have a good chance of success because they won the Super Bowl in 2022 against the Cincinnati Bengals. This season they have an okay offense but their defense has many holes. Looking at the numbers, “the LA Rams are allowing an average of just 21.6 points per game to be scored on the defense.” From the two, it’s still up in the air how far each would go and how well they will do but keeping in mind other teams are 5-1, I don’t see them going all the way.
MLB
For a team that is known for dominating, the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t do much of that in the most recent postseason. In the regular season, the Dodgers were the third-highest winning team in the MLB winning 100 games but losing 62 games. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for the postseason. The Dodgers clinched the no. 2 spot advancing and starting in the National League Divisional Series before they were eventually swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in three games, ending their disappointing season just like last year
If that wasn’t upsetting, the first game was pitched by beloved Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw where he gave up six runs in the first inning, five of which came in before getting an out. The following games were also disappointing because they let up three runs in the first inning in game two at home and in Arizona for game three, they let up four runs in the third. Star players Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are usually a power-duo bringing in runs however, they only made it on base three times out of their 16 at-bats combined, two of which resulted in runs in the first game.
The other LA baseball team didn’t do very well either, per usual. The Angels ended their season with a record of 73 wins and 89 losses and were officially eliminated from playoff contention Sept. 16th. They had a typical Angels season, meaning they hit big but had major setbacks. Their star player Shohei Ohtani will go into free agency this year and was out for most of September until the end of the season in October with a recent surgery on his elbow.
Mike Trout, another big name for the Angels, was also out the majority of the 2023 season “…with a broken hand; marking the seventh consecutive season Trout has had to miss significant time with an injury.” NBC LA reports. There are also rumors that the Angels’ neighbors in LA and in San Francisco are interested in taking Trout.
The Dodgers will for sure make it back to the postseason next year but will they choke again in the NLDS again for the third time or will they actually advance to the championship series? As for the Angels, what will they do without Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani? Will they resign or buy new talent? Whatever decisions these teams make, they will be huge and impactful to Los Angeles.
MLS
Both LA soccer teams are in the Western Conference where one is ranked second and the other thirteenth. Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), ranked 2nd, had a pretty decent season winning 14 games, losing 10 and tying nine. The LA Galaxy, ranked 13th, didn’t have the best season. From the 33 games played, they took eight wins, 13 losses and 12 ties. There is still one more game to be played on Oct. 21st as LAFC is the only LA team to clinch playoff contention in the no. 2 spot.
WNBA
Taking a turn to the Women’s side of basketball, the Los Angeles Sparks season ended back in Sept. The team didn’t qualify for playoffs because of their record of 17-23. The Sparks had a 8-game losing streak which resulted in them losing a playoff spot. The team was one win away from being tied with the Chicago Sky. AP says that their downfall is credited to all their players“ injuries and illness that have sometimes limited them to eight available on a 12-player roster.”
NHL
LA is home to two hockey teams, similar to the MLB, one is in Anaheim and the other LA. I know absolutely nothing about hockey so these opinions come purely from game statistics. The Anaheim Ducks had their season opener Oct. 14th and so far have a record of 1-3. The LA Kings had their opener Oct. 11th and have an even record of 2-2. Both teams are in the same division but the Kings are second in their division whereas the Ducks are last. Both teams struggle to score or protect the goal.