Series against powerhouse Dodgers an important measuring stick for Cubs

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LOS ANGELES — Across the street from LeBron James’ playground, Crypto.com Arena, there’s a huge ad adorning one side of an entire building.

You know the type.

Certainly, LeBron does.

He has been featured on wall-sized billboards before, in Cleveland, Miami and here.

But this one doesn’t feature the King.

Or his current co-star, Luka Doncic.

This one, looming imperiously over Olympic Boulevard, features a giant golden baseball, made to look as if it has broken through the wall itself.

The ball is framed on top by the unmistakable crisscrossed “LA” logo worn by the Dodgers on their caps.

Below, the word “Habit.”

LA Habit.

Any doubt which professional sports team rules the landscape of Southern California?

“That’s obviously pretty impressive,’’ Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “I mean, the Dodgers’ brand historically is already one of the top and to just see how they’ve kind of propelled it is a pretty neat thing.

“Big stadium, obviously a great team to watch.

A team of superstars and good personalities and winning baseball and a championship culture.

People wonder how to get fans in the seats — have a good team, right?’’

Four million tickets sold last season, which translates to just under 50,000 fans a night.

Back-to-back World Series champs.

Five Series appearances in the last nine years, including another title in 2020.

Thirteen consecutive seasons of playing in the postseason.

And in a city which draws its oxygen from its celebrities, the Dodgers have the greatest unicorn of them all, Shohei Ohtani, a global phenomenon unlike any this sport has seen since the Great Bambino himself.

One man’s opinion: Ohtani is a better two-way player than Babe Ruth.

The Babe all but gave up pitching at 23.

Ohtani, who turns 32 on July 5, is 2-0 with an 0.38 ERA in four starts, his last start six shutout innings earlier this week in San Francisco.

Into this rarefied air come the Cubs and their nine-game winning streak, the longest in the big leagues this season.

The Dodgers started the night 17-8, tied with the Padres for first place in the NL West and a half-game behind the Braves (18-8) for the majors’ best record.

The Cubs came in 16-9, tied with the Reds for first in the NL Central.

The Dodgers had the highest OPS in baseball, .828.

The Cubs (.784) were third.

The Dodgers lead baseball with 42 home runs.

The Cubs had 32, tied with the White Sox for fifth place.

The Cubs have outscored the Dodgers by two runs (139-137).

The Cubs have a higher on-base average (.357 to .355).

The Dodgers are outslugging the Cubs, .473 to .427.

Dodgers pitchers have a 3.27 ERA. The Cubs are at 3.44.

Two very good baseball teams, taking the measure of each other in April, which may or may not serve as a preview of coming attractions in October.

“We believe in the group we have,’’ Swanson said about what to make of two heavyweights slugging it out so early on the calendar. “We believe in this team.

“We believe in putting out a really great product, every night, day or night.

So I mean, yes and no [that the Dodgers are a test].

I mean, we want to win.

So at the end of the day, we’ve just got to continue to be about our business and our goals.

And that doesn’t change depending on who you’re playing, you know?

Obviously, it’s fun to be able to play games against them.’’

And then there is the undercard: In Dodger Blue, outfielder Kyle Tucker, who was paid a lot of money last season by the Cubs to take them deep into October.

It didn’t happen.

The Cubs moved on to Tucker’s former teammate in Houston, third baseman Alex Bregman.

How different does that make the 2026 Cubs from last year’s team?

“Obviously,’’ Swanson said, “both players are top players in our league.

Very different personalities, but both show up to do their job each and every day.

“Just like the interactions I’ve had with Breggy — we sort of came up together and played against each other in college — we have a little bit of a unique bond with each other just because of that.

“But I mean, he fits so seamlessly into our group.

So easy.’’