I’m a Lakers fan. There, I said it. It’s just one of those things that is generally frowned upon. And, to be honest, I get it. I was born and raised in Southeastern Minnesota, and yet was a fan of a team from Los Angeles, despite never having been to Southern California until years after my fandom had set in. To pick one of the most successful franchises of all time as your favorite, in a place you have no immediate connection to, seems like a cop out to many, and I’m willing to shoulder the criticism. But here’s the retort I always offer: I’ve been a fan of the Lakers from an earlier age than you were a fan of your favorite team.
I became a Lakers fan when I was five years old. My only older sports allegiance is to the Vikings, who I have rooted for since I was three. Here’s how it happened. When I was an impressionable five-year-old, Aaron Carter came out with the song “That’s How I Beat Shaq.” The song’s music video, where Carter wins a pickup basketball game against basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, made frequent appearances on my favorite channel of the time, Nickelodeon (naturally).
And I absolutely hated it. For one, who did that kid think he was, taking on this huge basketball player by telling him his shoelace was untied? Like that’s realistic. The other part was I, as a staunch fan of the Backstreet Boys, felt a bit as though this kid was stealing his brother’s well-earned thunder. But I digress…
I actually had no idea at the time who the behemoth of a basketball player was playing against him, but I felt for him. This Shaq guy was clearly the better player, and no cheap tricks should decide who won. This is really all I took away from the whole experience.
Fast forward a few months, and I’m sitting on the couch watching the NBA finals with my dad. At the time, the only basketball player I knew was Michael Jordan, little did I know that he hadn’t played an NBA game in three years. But lo and behold, clad in Purple wearing number 34 is Shaquille O’Neal, the same huge basketball player that I watched get cheated by a little teenage brat. And here’s the thing, he’s not just bigger than that twerp, he’s bigger than literally everyone. He’s a giant, and it seems like I’m not alone in thinking he’s cool. It seems he has the charisma to go with his big frame and from that point on, I was a Laker fan. I was never looking back.
And boy, did I pick a good one. The Lakers are second in championships only to the Boston Celtics. They started as the Minneapolis Lakers in the early 40s and were the first true dynasty in the NBA behind Center George Mikan. They then left the Twin Cities for sunny LA, where they have been ever since (In hindsight, this is probably the thing that should make me hate this team, given that they betrayed my home state, but again, I was five). They proceeded to win another championship in 1973 behind an NBA record 33-game winning streak. And then, in 1979, they drafted a 6’9” point guard out of Michigan State named Earvin “Magic” Johnson. And thus, Showtime was born.
For those among us who are uninitiated, Showtime was an era in Lakers basketball where they capitalized on having Magic, arguably the greatest point guard of all time, running up and down the court, creating fast breaks by being an illusionist (hence the nickname) of a passer. The team was a living, breathing highlight reel. Couple that with the crafty play of center Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, the NBA’s career scoring leader, and add in a supporting cast that at various times included the likes of James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Kurt Rambis, Mychal Thompson, and Byron Scott, and the Lakers had a team that won 5 titles in the 80s, making the finals three more times. And even though those teams and that style have left the Lakers over time, the Showtime moniker remains, an homage to perhaps the greatest iteration of the Purple-and-Gold the league has ever seen. I had picked one of the most storied and accomplished franchises of all time. And, unbeknownst to me at the time, the current team had just won their second straight championship.
It should be pointed out at this point that I didn’t even know of any other teams at this point. I would learn that Minnesota had a team much later, and at that point, it was far too late.
Fast forward almost a year, and we will reach the point where I go from saying I’m a Lakers fan to feeling it in my heart. It is in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Game 4, against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers, who had trailed by as many as 24 were on the brink of going down 3-1 in the best of seven series. But they worked it all the way to a two-point deficit and had the ball with a chance to tie. They put the ball in the hands of their young superstar Kobe Bryant, who drove to the right side but missed his layup attempt. Then Shaq rebounded the ball and tried to put it in, but he was also unsuccessful. On the second miss, Kings center Vlade Divac batted the rebound towards midcourt, away from the Lakers two best players. And then magic happened…
Power Forward Robert Horry, who was perhaps the fifth option on the floor at the time, grabbed the ball behind the three-point line straight away. Horry, who had garnered the moniker “Big Shot Bob” for his ability to hit clutch shots throughout his playoff career, calmly shot the ball after stepping in, making sure to keep behind three-point line. There was never a doubt. Horry nodded his head as he was mobbed by teammates and fans at half-court, having hit the most memorable of his repertoire of clutch baskets. In that moment, I was practically running through my TV to celebrate with him. This team was mine, and I was theirs. The Lakers would go on to win that series in 7 games and sweep their way to a third straight title.
And here I am, 15 years later, staying up to watch games that start at 9:30 central time, because I, yes, am a Lakers fan. And, to put it lightly, the last five years have been rough. After barely making the playoffs in 2013, the Lakers proceeded to miss the playoffs five straight years. In that span, we ran off Mike D’Antoni, who is now head coach of a Rockets team that seems to be the only real threat to the current Warriors dynasty (I was one of the ones calling for his head, so I’m certainly not pointing the finger, this was just truly a bad team). We also ran off Byron Scott, but that was an objectively good decision in the eyes of anyone who has watched Byron Scott coach. It took a heroic effort by Kobe Bryant to make the playoffs in 2013, and it ended in a sweep, and Kobe, who tore his Achilles tendon towards the end of the year, missed the playoffs and was never the name player. The Lakers Proceeded to Draft D’Angelo Russel, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. None of those players are still Lakers. The Front office inexplicably signed career journeymen Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to massive deals, and those contracts cost young talent, draft picks, and way too much money to get out from underneath, and those two were never ever going to make any kind of appreciable difference on a serious contender.
It’s probably only fair at this point the acknowledge that I haven’t had it all that bad as a Laker fan. After that 2002 Championship run, the Lakers won an additional two titles behind Kobe Bryant, who between the first threepeat and the torn Achilles, became one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA. The Lakers might currently be in a five-year playoff drought, but the Minnesota Timberwolves, who I would no doubt have become a fan of had basketball come to me a bit later, recently broke their own 14-year-long streak of missing the playoffs. And their reward: a first-round exit, followed by a media circus surrounding their best player that might just plunge them back into mediocrity.
So, I get it. I could be complaining about a whole lot worse. But bad is bad, and there is no question that the Lakers in recent memory have been nothing short of bad. Which is why I am so excited for the team the Lakers are putting in play this year. For all the young players the Lakers have had to trade away, they still have formed a solid young core comprised of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart. Though their NBA careers haven’t yielded a ton of success in terms of winning yet, these four players are widely regarded as legitimate talents in today’s NBA.
Additionally, the Lakers made a statement this offseason by adding four intriguing veterans: Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, Javale McGee, and Lance Stephenson. These four are often known more for their personality and volatility off the court as they are for their play on the court. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that these players have had a knack throughout their careers for winning. Two of them, Rondo and McGee, have been members of championship teams, McGee having won with the Warriors last year. All are playoff tested and will bring that experience to aid the younger players.
That having been said, this team would still not be very good if that is all that it was bringing to the table. But of course, I’ve left the best for last, because the biggest addition of the Summer was a man by the name of LeBron James. In case you haven’t heard of him, he is a Three-time champion, four-time Most Valuable Player, and perhaps the only player who is ever considered to be a challenge to Michael Jordan for the greatest player of all time. He has played in the NBA finals each of the past eight years, and he is bringing his talents to Hollywood. This is the kind of talent, leadership, and star-power that the Lakers have sorely lacked for far too long. LeBron is the kind of player that will make any team good, and it is possible that with the pieces we have, this team can become great.
Listen, I am optimistic by nature. And when my team hasn’t won anything in half a decade, I probably go a little overboard, but I know this for sure. I am going to have fun watching basketball this year, which is something I haven’t been able to say in a while. I am going to be sitting on the edge of my seat while watching close games, not just for the momentary excitement but the stakes that will invariably be attached.
There’s one other thing, too. The Lakers, last year, were one of the fastest playing teams in the NBA. The finished the season ranked 3rd in Pace and 2nd in Fastbreak points. Add to that Lebron James, who despite having a revolutionary style all his own, is most often compared with…Magic Johnson. That’s right, the star we just got is most often compared to the centerpiece of the Showtime Lakers, and is joining a team that already likes to play fast. We have a potential to see Showtime again.
Will the Lakers make a run at the title this year? Probably not. But will they be among the challengers to the team we all expect to be the champions (the Warriors)? I think so, though some think the team will struggle to miss the playoffs in a stacked Western Conference. I don’t buy that. A player of LeBron’s caliber never struggles to make the playoffs, no matter which team he is on. And let’s not forget that this team is just beginning to be assembled. LeBron signed a four-year contract, and he won’t wait it out without another big-name player (or two) joining him, so this team is poised to make a run over the next few years that is bound to be incredibly exciting. We may still be in the very early stages of it, but the feeling is inescapable: maybe, just maybe, Showtime might be Back!
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