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The Los Angeles Lakers failed to make the playoffs this year after an unimpressive season, but Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen says it wasn’t because of a shortage of talent.
The six-time NBA champion told KTLA in a recent interview the Lakers failed to make the "sacrifice" needed to be a winning team.
The Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (6) and Washington Wizards' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) reach for the ball during the second half of an NBA game March 19, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
"I just felt like, this season, the sacrifice wasn’t there," Pippen said. "The players are obviously very talented. They brought in some players who are very knowledgeable about the game and can still play at a very high level, but I just felt like there wasn’t a lot of sacrifice from the individuals. That really caused that team to have a lot of chaos throughout the season."
Pippen compared the Lakers to the Golden State Warriors, who are up 1-0 in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
LAKERS' JEANIE BUSS SOUNDS OFF ON DISAPPOINTING SEASON: 'I’M NOT HAPPY, I’M NOT SATISFIED'
Chicago Bulls' forward Scottie Pippen dribbles against the Washington Bullets during a game at the Capital Centre in the 1990's in Washington, D.C. (Focus on Sport via Getty Images)
"Steph, Klay, Draymond — those guys are leaders on their team," he said. "Those guys make that team go."
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Lakers owner Jeanie Buss expressed a similar sentiment earlier this month when she told the Los Angeles Times she was expecting a playoff run.
"I’m growing impatient just because we had the fourth-highest payroll in the league. … When you spend that kind of money on the luxury tax, you expect to go deep into the playoffs," Buss told the newspaper. "So, yeah, it was gut-wrenching for me to go out on a limb like that and not get the results that we were looking for. … I’m not happy, I’m not satisfied."
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, is defended by Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson during the second half of a preseason game in Los Angeles Oct. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
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The Lakers finished the season 33-49. Head coach Frank Vogel was fired in April after three seasons and an NBA championship in 2020.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.