To say that the past few years have been rough for the Los Angeles Lakers would be an ultimate understatement. Most teams in the NBA go through a rough patch at some point, some more than others, and are forced to go into rebuilding mode in hopes to become relevant again. However, a team like the Lakers, who are full of history are supposed to be the exception to the rule. For as long as most can remember, the Lakers have dominated the NBA, winning 16 championships during their existence. Only the Boston Celtics have more with 17. Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse in L.A. Less than a decade ago the Lakers little brother, the Clippers, were the laughing stock of the NBA and completely forgotten by the majority. Fast forward to the present and these teams have done a complete 180 in the basketball world. The Clippers are now the leaders of the Staples Center and the Lakers are in a consistent battle with the Philadelphia 76ers as the laughing stock. The Sixers still hold that title but the Lakers are right on their tails. It may seem like forever ago but it was just 2010 when the Lakers won their last championship. So what the hell happened? How did this historic franchise fall so hard so fast?
It’s likely the Lakers downfall started around August 2012 after the team traded for Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic in a four-team trade. A
month prior to the trade, L.A. pulled off a sign and trade with the Phoenix Suns to bring in point guard Steve Nash in exchange for two future first round picks. On paper, the Lakers now looked like a dynasty alongside team captain and future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant. The Lakers could easily give the Suns those two first round picks since it looked as though the Lakers wouldn’t need those picks for the foreseeable future. This team was supposed to contend for championships for at least the next few seasons. However, what looks good on paper doesn’t always carry over to the basketball court. The Lakers greatly underperformed during the 2012-2013 season, and were lucky just to reach the playoffs. It was a short stint, however, as the San Antonio Spurs swept them out of the first round. Nash battled injuries the entire time he was in L.A., hardly ever seeing the court as a Laker. He officially retired at the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season, a season he never spent on the court because of back problems. Howard, on the other hand, who had only one season left on his contract when he was traded to L.A., bolted to the Houston Rockets once his contract was completed. Him and Kobe could never see eye to eye. So instead of re-signing with the Lakers like everyone expected him to after the trade, Howard felt his best opportunity to win a championship was in Houston.
You thought somehow that the Lakers would find a way to prevail. That they would just bring in some other big time free agent and everything would be great again. But it didn’t happen. Those free agents started looking more at the Clippers when visiting L.A. It was the beginning of the end for the Lakers in the 2013-2014 season, as they set a franchise record with 55 losses. In 2014-2015, they broke that record again with 61 losses. For a third consecutive season, the Lakers broke that record this past Wednesday with their 62nd loss this season, followed by their 63rd on Friday with still three games remaining. This is not how Kobe Bryant and the Lakers had planned it all going down. With nagging injuries himself, Kobe decided early in the season that this would be his last. Kobe Bryant has done it all throughout his career. He’s spent his entire career as a Laker, which is an accomplishment in and itself in today’s game, winning five championships and a former league MVP. Even though there were no high expectations for the Lakers prior to the season, this was supposed to be a year of celebration for Kobe’s incredible career. In many ways it has as he plays his last games in other prestigious arenas like Madison Square Garden and against other future Hall of Famers such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. However, in a lot of other ways the celebration of Kobe’s career has been clouded by other factors surrounding the team.
Obviously, losing 62 games in a season, it’s hard to celebrate anything. I’ve actually been surprised by Kobe’s emotions, whose been known to show his displeasure with losing, playing it very calm throughout the season. It has to be tough for him to watch, however, whether it’s games he plays or doesn’t. It’s still the best time for him to walk away, particularly with the Lakers becoming a mess. Off the court the Lakers have been in the news as well and for the wrong reasons. Recently, a video was leaked on Snapchat that featured Lakers guard Nick Young being videotaped by teammate D’Angelo Russell. In the video, Young brags about his sexual escapades that he’s accomplished over the years and also while he’s been engaged to popular artist, Iggy Azalea. Russell has since apologized to Young for the video getting out but the story has gone viral, turning all of the attention to these two players. It’s sad that Kobe’s retirement has taken a backseat to a story about two immature young kids and a video that just slipped, fell, and landed on Snapchat.
Of course Kobe Bryant had one of the greatest careers we’ve ever seen and, arguably, the best that I’ve personally witnessed next to Michael Jordan. His legacy will never be forgotten but for all the wrong going on in the Lakers organization right now, it’s a shame that the media chooses to turn their attention more to childish behavior instead of honoring Kobe Bryant in his last few games. There’s no doubt that Kobe Bryant will be honored at the end of the season by the Lakers and the sports world. Who knows? There may even be a Rocky style statue of Kobe presented in the near future (and there should be). But it cannot be taken back that the NBA and the media have missed a golden opportunity to relish this season as Kobe’s last. Yes, the Lakers are terrible. We already knew that well in advance. Yes, he wasn’t physically able to play every game this season and missed some time in the middle but this is Kobe Bryant. With professional athletes normally uncertain of whether they want to continue playing towards the end of their careers, it’s not often we know in advance when a legend of the game decides to really walk away from the game. Brett Favre retired from the NFL like 83 times and even Peyton Manning waited until the last minute to declare his retirement.
Still, this is not stopping the Lakers or the NBA from collecting on Kobe’s departure from the game he loves. The average ticket price
for the Lakers final home game this season is nearly double what it was for Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. It’s a shame really how it’s all played out. Sure there were other stories to keep us occupied like the Golden State Warriors attempting to chase history, which are great for the game, but others like the Russell/Young video looked to have gotten more notoriety in a week than Mamba has all year. Even in this last week of the regular season we’re not hearing too much about Kobe but of course they will attempt to make up for the lack of coverage in his final games but it’s too late in my opinion. Maybe Kobe prefers it this way and doesn’t want the spotlight on him anymore but only a handful of players with Kobe’s stature ever enters the game.
Of course it’s not to say that his final season has been completely ignored. Far from it. Only that it has been overshadowed by more pointless, yet more dramatic storylines that bring down the integrity of the game. The losing hasn’t helped either. Not that we expected Kobe to go out the same way Peyton did, but it would have been nice to see the Lakers exceed some expectations and maybe push for a playoff spot. Anything would be better than winning less than 20 games all year. In hindsight though, it’s in the Lakers best interest to continue losing for these few remaining games. The Lakers first round pick now belongs to the 76ers after Phoenix traded it away in a three-team deal that landed them Brandon Knight. The pick is top-three protected, meaning that if the Lakers fall out of the top 3 that the pick will then go to Philadelphia instead and the Lakers will be left without a pick in the first round. If the Lakers miss out on the opportunity to draft a player like Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons altogether, then this team could be pushed even further back from relevancy.
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