Where to Watch the Lakers in West LA (2026-27): Luka’s 40-Point Season Is Must-See TV
With the halftime buzzer sounding Friday night, Luka Dončić launched a 62-foot heave that went in, and the Lakers went from a 16-point hole to a win. He finished with 53 points in a 124–118 comeback over Portland, his fourth straight 40-point game. Only Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor and George Mikan had done that in a Lakers uniform. The Lakers are 8–2 in their first season without LeBron James, and they have the best offense in the league. Our position is simple: this is the most fun Lakers team to watch in years, and you should be watching it in a bar full of people. Here’s where to do that on the Westside.
Why This Season Is Different
On June 30, LeBron told the Lakers he wasn’t coming back. He’s in Philadelphia now. Instead of rebuilding slowly, the front office remade the roster around Dončić and brought in nine new players. Walker Kessler came from Utah in a sign-and-trade as the new starting center, Quentin Grimes signed for four years, and Collin Sexton, Kevon Looney and Matisse Thybulle add depth. Austin Reaves got a four-year extension and stays the No. 2 option. ESPN gave the offseason a C+. Ten games in, that grade is looking stingy.
Dončić is the story. He’s averaging 40.1 points through his first nine games, and per ESPN, Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player who has averaged 40 through the first nine games of a season. Michael Jordan’s best was 37.1 in 1986–87. Coach JJ Redick has said Dončić does things “a handful, if not no one” can do. After Friday’s game, Portland’s coach skipped the hedging: “He is the MVP right now.”
Nobody keeps up a 40-a-night pace for 82 games. Wilt is the only one who ever did. That’s the reason to watch now. Six weeks from now, this run will either be historic or it will have cooled off, and either way you’ll want to have seen it live.
“Nobody keeps up 40 a night for 82 games. That’s the reason to watch now.”
The Best Westside Bars to Watch the Lakers
Sonny McLean’s (2615 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica) is the most serious watching setup on this list. There are 23 TVs inside, six more on a big back patio, and about 40 beers on draft. Go here when you actually care about the result. If you want a patio and a game but care less about hearing the broadcast, sit outside.
Busby’s West (3110 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica) is the loud one. It has screens everywhere, a big back patio, and an arcade room with air hockey for anyone in your group who isn’t into basketball. On weekends the crowd and the DJ show up, so it’s best for late tips on Friday and Saturday.
Thunderbird (12217 Wilshire Blvd, West LA) is the nicest-looking sports bar on the Westside: exposed beams, booths, skee-ball in the back, a Tex-Mex menu, and a deep agave list. It fills up fast on big game nights, and the lot has about ten spaces, so get there well before tip-off or take a rideshare.
Barney’s Beanery (1351 3rd St Promenade, Santa Monica) is the easy pick if you’re already on the Promenade. It has a huge menu, it shows NBA games regularly, and nobody minds if you show up in a jersey. The Westwood location fills that role for the UCLA crowd.
The Brig (Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice) has been pouring since 1952. It has large TVs, a pool table, and one of the biggest patios in the city, with an outdoor bar of its own. Happy hour runs 4–7pm on weekdays, and most 7:30pm tip-offs start right around when it ends. If you’re making a night of it, our Abbot Kinney guide covers dinner nearby.
Founders Ale House (9739 Culver Blvd, Culver City) shows up on almost every LA best-sports-bar list. It’s a solid craft-beer pick if you’re on the Culver side. See our Culver City guide for the rest of the neighborhood.
Holiday and big-game hours change, so call ahead before a nationally televised game. For more options without the TVs, see our best bars in Santa Monica and happy hour guides.
Watching at Home: Where the Games Are
Most Lakers games are on Spectrum SportsNet, which comes with Spectrum cable and some streaming bundles. The nationally televised games are split among the league’s national partners, ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, and those can be blacked out on the local feed. With Dončić scoring like this, expect more of the schedule to go national. Check the network before each game so you’re not searching for it after tip-off. If you’re hosting, our game day food guide was written for football, but the spread works just as well for basketball.
Circle This One: Christmas Day, LeBron Comes Back
The 76ers visit the Lakers on Friday, December 25, at 2pm Pacific on ABC/ESPN. It’s LeBron’s first game back in Los Angeles since he left, and it will be the most-watched regular-season game in LA this year. Tickets will cost a fortune and most bars will run holiday hours. Our suggestion is to treat it like a holiday tradition: put it on at home after lunch, invite the whole family, and argue about whether he should have stayed. If you want a bar, book or confirm hours by mid-December, because the places that are open will be packed.
