Here are five reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers can be a title contender right now.

When LeBron James agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers on July 1, the initial reaction through most of Lakers Nation was euphoria. Over the next couple days, additional euphoria along with curiosity followed as the team signed salty, experienced vets like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale Mcgee and later Michael Beasley. Pretty soon, the euphoria subsided a little bit and reality set in.

Practically speaking, based on the way the Lakers’ roster looks right now, we can expect roughly 50 wins this upcoming season, give or take a few depending on things like health, the development of prospects like Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball as well as the overall strength of the Western Conference. That would likely earn them a middle of the pack seed, and we could reasonably expect them to, at best, get to the second round of the playoffs.

But one of the best things about being a sports fan is that we never really know how things will turn out. Sometimes teams pull a Cinderella act and the clock never strikes midnight. It’s always possible that the 2018-19 Lakers could do better than expected and quickly become legit championship contenders.

After all, it’s happened before. When Phil Jackson took over as head coach just before the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers consisted of a prime Shaquille O’Neal, an up-and-coming but immature Kobe Bryant and a bunch of elderly guys with limited skills such as Ron Harper, A.C. Green and John Salley. Few expected the Lakers to be title contenders right away, and most were picking the Portland Trail Blazers or San Antonio Spurs to go all the way.

But the purple and gold came together better than anyone expected. They put together several double-digit winning streaks, became the best defensive team in the NBA and overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter of game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Portland en route to the world championship.

Here’s why these Lakers could become world champions this upcoming season. It may not be something we can expect to happen, but it’s also not as crazy as some in the mainstream media may think.