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Lakers Media Day: The Start of the 2016-17 Season

The Los Angeles Lakers held Media Day on Monday, which serves as the unofficial start of the 2016-17 season.

On Monday, the 2016-17 NBA season unofficially tipped off for the Los Angeles Lakers on Media Day. On this most unique of experiences, the Lakers dressed up all their players and paraded them around the practice gym with stops that included talking to radio stations and appearing on television. Dressed in their gold jerseys, players spoke with media, took pictures and recorded promotions, too.

Most importantly, though, Monday's Media Day is effectively the start of a new Lakers' season.

Tuesday is the start of training camp on the scenic campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara (Take a look at these pictures). A week later, the Lakers will be playing their first preseason game at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Exactly one month after Anaheim, the NBA season will be 10 days old for the purple and gold.

From Monday's Media Day to the start of the regular season on Oct. 25 at Staples Center, the next month will be a blur for players and the fans, and Monday offered a glimpse into what to expect for the 2016-17 season under a new regime.

"Fun, energetic, guys are hungry," Lakers forward Julius Randle attempted to describe the vibe of the team on the eve of camp. "We've been up here every day this summer. [Coach Luke Walton] already instilled a great vibe, great energy through our team, and we're excited."

"We know it's going to be a process," Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram, who was a regular with the young workout crew dubbed "The Breakfast Club" over the summer, said on Monday. "Just to get better each and every day, do what the coach wants us to do and come in here and work hard."

"We've had a great showing from our players this offseason," Walton reinforced reports coming out of the Lakers' training facility all summer long.

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"Patience will definitely be important—not only for me, not only the rest of the coaching staff, but for the players, the fans, everybody," Walton zoomed out for a wider angle of the Lakers' current state. "Obviously, I think the front office will be patient. They realize that this is a process. But I think it's important that we set our foundation and we set our goals and we don't let whether or not we're winning or losing games take us from that path."

With Kobe Bryant no longer part of the product on the court, the Lakers enter a new era with a great deal of questions that need to be answered with regards to leadership in the locker room, on the court and on the marketing front.

"That's part of the fun, we don't know yet," Walton said when pressed on who he thought would take over the leadership void following Bryant's departure. "It'll be interesting to find out, and I'm sure we will in training camp. I'm sure we will two months from now and even more so further down the road again. Adversity brings that stuff out: who's the leaders, who's stepping up when things are tough."

One player who appears to be interested in taking that leadership mantle is point guard D'Angelo Russell.

"As a point guard, you're definitely going to have that job of being the leader and showing those qualities of vocal leadership and showing by example," Russell said. "As far as being the face of the franchise, I feel like time will pan that out. I don't feel like anybody is like 'I want that.'"

Then, almost by accident, Russell summed up the reality of where the Lakers stand from a player and coaching perspective: "This is new to everybody."

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