The Los Angeles Lakers had an extremely busy offseason, re-signing key free agents like D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura while adding some serious depth with Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes.

Many of their key pieces are the same, but they were one of the best teams in the NBA down the stretch and will be looking for avoid the early-season struggles that put them in such a deep hole last season.

While the Lakers look the part of a contender on paper, there are no shortage of tough tests waiting for them in the Western Conference — including the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the new-look Phoenix Suns, the ascendant Sacramento Kings, the reloaded Golden State Warriors and more. In fact, by one projection system based on a proprietary stat called Vegas-informed Estimate of Team Strength, the Lakers enter this season with the fourth-toughest schedule.

A big factor here is playing in the Pacific Division where the Lakers will have to play the Warriors, Clippers, Suns and Kings — all of whom are reasonable championship contenders — four times each. The NBA calendar dashboard from Positive Residual also shows that they have 12 games in their 82-game schedule where they will be at a rest disadvantage (opponent will be coming off more days of rest than the Lakers). The Orlando Magic are the only team with more games of rest disadvantage.

On paper, the toughest stretch of the schedule may be from Nov. 25 to Dec. 31 — a stretch of 16 games with 12 coming on the road, and which includes games against the Cavs, 76ers, Thunder (twice), Mavs, Knicks, Pelicans and a Christmas Day matchup against the Celtics.

Los Angeles Lakers 2023-24 full 82-game schedule:

1. Tue, Oct. 24, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Denver Nuggets
2. Thu, Oct. 26, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Phoenix Suns
3. Sun, Oct. 29, 2023 — 9:00 p.m. — @Sacramento Kings
4. Mon, Oct. 30, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Orlando Magic
5. Wed, Nov. 1, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Los Angeles Clippers
6. Sat, Nov. 4, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @Orlando Magic
7. Mon, Nov. 6, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Miami Heat
8. Wed, Nov. 8, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Houston Rockets
9. Fri, Nov. 10, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — @Phoenix Suns
10. Sun, Nov. 12, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Portland Trail Blazers
11. Tue, Nov. 14, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Memphis Grizzlies
12. Wed, Nov. 15, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Sacramento Kings
13. Fri, Nov. 17, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — @Portland Trail Blazers
14. Sun, Nov. 19, 2023 — 9:30 p.m. — Houston Rockets
15. Tue, Nov. 21, 2023 — 10:00 p.m. — Utah Jazz
16. Wed, Nov. 22, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Dallas Mavericks
17. Sat, Nov. 25, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Cleveland Cavaliers
18. Mon, Nov. 27, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @Philadelphia 76ers
19. Wed, Nov. 29, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @Detroit Pistons
20. Thu, Nov. 30, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Oklahoma City Thunder
21. Sat, Dec. 2, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Houston Rockets
22. Tue, Dec. 12, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @Dallas Mavericks
23. Wed, Dec. 13, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @San Antonio Spurs
24. Fri, Dec. 15, 2023 — 7:30 p.m. — @San Antonio Spurs
25. Mon, Dec. 18, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — New York Knicks
26. Wed, Dec. 20, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Chicago Bulls
27. Thu, Dec. 21, 2023 — 9:00 p.m. — @Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Sat, Dec. 23, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Oklahoma City Thunder
29. Mon, Dec. 25, 2023 — 5:00 p.m. — Boston Celtics
30. Thu, Dec. 28, 2023 — 10:30 p.m. — Charlotte Hornets
31. Sat, Dec. 30, 2023 — 8:00 p.m. — @Minnesota Timberwolves
32. Sun, Dec. 31, 2023 — 7:00 p.m. — @New Orleans Pelicans
33. Wed, Jan. 3, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Miami Heat
34. Fri, Jan. 5, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Memphis Grizzlies
35. Sun, Jan. 7, 2024 — 9:30 p.m. — Los Angeles Clippers
36. Tue, Jan. 9, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Toronto Raptors
37. Thu, Jan. 11, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Phoenix Suns
38. Sat, Jan. 13, 2024 — 9:30 p.m. — @Utah Jazz
39. Mon, Jan. 15, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City Thunder
40. Wed, Jan. 17, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Dallas Mavericks
41. Fri, Jan. 19, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Brooklyn Nets
42. Sun, Jan. 21, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Portland Trail Blazers
43. Tue, Jan. 23, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Los Angeles Clippers
44. Thu, Jan. 25, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Chicago Bulls
45. Sat, Jan. 27, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — @Golden State Warriors
46. Mon, Jan. 29, 2024 — 8:00 p.m. — @Houston Rockets
47. Tue, Jan. 30, 2024 — 7:30 p.m. — @Atlanta Hawks
48. Thu, Feb. 1, 2024 — 7:30 p.m. — @Boston Celtics
49. Sat, Feb. 3, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — @New York Knicks
50. Mon, Feb. 5, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Charlotte Hornets
51. Thu, Feb. 8, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Denver Nuggets
52. Fri, Feb. 9, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — New Orleans Pelicans
53. Tue, Feb. 13, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Detroit Pistons
54. Wed, Feb. 14, 2024 — 9:00 p.m. — @Utah Jazz
55. Thu, Feb. 22, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Golden State Warriors
56. Fri, Feb. 23, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — San Antonio Spurs
57. Sun, Feb. 25, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. — @Phoenix Suns
58. Wed, Feb. 28, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Los Angeles Clippers
59. Thu, Feb. 29, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Washington Wizards
60. Sat, Mar. 2, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — Denver Nuggets
61. Mon, Mar. 4, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City Thunder
62. Wed, Mar. 6, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Sacramento Kings
63. Fri, Mar. 8, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Milwaukee Bucks
64. Sun, Mar. 10, 2024 — 9:30 p.m. — Minnesota Timberwolves
65. Wed, Mar. 13, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — @Sacramento Kings
66. Sat, Mar. 16, 2024 — 8:30 p.m. — Golden State Warriors
67. Mon, Mar. 18, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Atlanta Hawks
68. Fri, Mar. 22, 2024 — 10:30 p.m. — Philadelphia 76ers
69. Sun, Mar. 24, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Indiana Pacers
70. Tue, Mar. 26, 2024 — 7:30 p.m. — @Milwaukee Bucks
71. Wed, Mar. 27, 2024 — 8:00 p.m. — @Memphis Grizzlies
72. Fri, Mar. 29, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Indiana Pacers
73. Sun, Mar. 31, 2024 — 6:00 p.m. — @Brooklyn Nets
74. Tue, Apr. 2, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Toronto Raptors
75. Wed, Apr. 3, 2024 — 7:00 p.m. — @Washington Wizards
76. Sat, Apr. 6, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. — Cleveland Cavaliers
77. Sun, Apr. 7, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Minnesota Timberwolves
78. Tue, Apr. 9, 2024 — 10:00 p.m. — Golden State Warriors
79. Tue, Apr. 12, 2024 — 8:00 p.m. — @Memphis Grizzlies
80. Thu, Apr. 14, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. — @New Orleans Pelicans

The remaining two games on the Lakers' schedule will be determined based on the results of the inaugural In-Season Tournament which begins in November.