LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers gathered for their annual Media Day, the unofficial start of their training camp amid a swirl of interviews with TV and radio stations, beat writers, and bloggers.

There were lots of smiles on a day that typically rains optimism. The season doesn’t start for another three weeks (Oct. 19 against Golden State, to be exact), and everybody is 0-0 in the standings until then — give or take a handful of preseason games.

The Lakers, however, acted like they knew something Tuesday, a series of small secrets hidden among all the laughter.

LeBron James was charismatic in his interviews, the memory of a first-round playoff loss to Phoenix seemingly erased from his mind. He turns 37 in December but was at ease Tuesday in just about everything he said and did. He even found humor in an aging Lakers roster with 10 players age 32 and above.

“I actually really do laugh at it,” he said in a news conference with reporters. “Some of the memes and some of the jokes have been extremely funny.”

Maybe James was relaxed after seeing all the right signs in a players-only mini-camp he hosted in Las Vegas last week. The players spent some time on the court, but the off-court stuff was just as important.

“There's a lot of guys who make some pretty good money on this team, so the dinners were phenomenal,” forward Trevor Ariza said jokingly.

LA's chemistry will still be something to monitor. With 10 new faces on a team of only 13 players, it might not be easy at first. A breezy early-season schedule will help, but adding a player like Russell Westbook to the mix could take some time.

James acknowledged it might not be “peanut butter and jelly” right away with Westbrook, but there was no denying the importance of adding a player who averaged a triple-double in four of the last five seasons.

“We need Russ to be Russ,” James said. “It’s our job to all help him feel comfortable in our system. He’s going to be as dynamic as he’s always been. I look forward to that.”

Westbrook simply looked happy to be home in LA after a 13-year career took him to Oklahoma City, Houston and Washington. But there’s always something simmering inside the hard-charging Westbrook despite his pleasant demeanor Tuesday — or as center Dwight Howard put it, “All of us are intense, [but] he’s another level.”

There were clues that the Lakers deserved to be considered championship contenders. (They are currently second only to the Brooklyn Nets, according to oddsmakers.)

Anthony Davis has definitely bulked up since the end of last season, broader in the shoulders and biceps after an injury-plagued campaign that saw him miss exactly half the Lakers’ games.

Many players even gave a deferential nod to the importance of a hard-edged defense on a team that should score points easily. The Lakers were the top-rated defensive team last season but lost several solid defenders via trade (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma) and free agency (Alex Caruso, Dennis Schröder).

“We’re going to set a high standard for what we can accomplish on the defensive end,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel. “Is this group going to commit like teams of the last couple years? That’s going to be the question, and that’s going to be the challenge placed upon them.”

For those concerned about the Lakers’ long-distance shooting, Kent Bazemore announced the creation of a new sect for LA, a “40% Club” that will celebrate all teammates who surpass that solid mark from three-point range. Wayne Ellington took it one step further, saying he would lead a “45% Club.”

On a more serious note, all the Lakers players will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in time for the season opener, allowing them to sit together in team meetings and video sessions, among other things.

"The ultimate goal is to obviously win a championship, and it starts with health as the No. 1 thing," James said. "We're excited to know that we've given ourselves another opportunity to be available to each other."

By noon Tuesday, Lakers Media Day had officially ended. The two-hour event went quickly, filled with stories and anecdotes and one-liners. But then the court was cleared of everything media-related, and practice began shortly thereafter. There is, after all, work to do.