As the biggest brand in the world in team basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers have not shown much over the past years worthy of such high standards.
For starters, the team has not played in the NBA playoffs in five straight years and has lacked star power since Kobe Bryant retired after spending 20 seasons with the team. Boston Celtics have the most NBA titles and New York plays in the world’s biggest market at the holy grail of sports arena’s-Madison Square Garden.
However, the Lakers are the biggest brand in the league because the team is just a title short of Boston’s 17, plays in America’s second largest city and has things other cities don’t have. Nice weather, large market and Hollywood get Los Angeles over the line in such debates. In basketball terms, one major reason the Lakers sit on top is down to its association with the greatest players in the sports history.
The NBA is a player driven league and having names like Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul Jabbar as part of your history speaks volumes. Poignantly, the NBA logo is a silhouette of Lakers great Jerry West. The team is still in the city, still rich-ranked second only behind the Knicks by Forbes- and has the biggest name in the sport in LeBron James on its roster.
Conversely, matters on the court have not panned out as planned neither have matters off the court especially regarding Anthony Davis’ botched trade deal.
Signing James was major coup for the Lakers but with little over a month for the regular season to end, there is trouble in paradise. LA Lakers are on the brink of missing the postseason for the sixth straight year despite having the world’s best player.
Ranked 10th in the Western Conference, Lakers are two spots outside the playoffs zone; the eight spot is occupied by city rival LA Clippers. A lot of hope has been pinned on a big run after the All Star break but two games after the festivities; the Lakers have a win and a loss to show for. However, Luke Walton will make the postseason and here are the reasons why:
Clippers switch to tanking mode
The Clippers are bound to do their rival a big favour thanks to its switch in priorities for the season from contenders to an NBA Draft bound team. To retain its top ten pick in this year’s draft, Clippers must miss the playoffs else watch it fall into the hands of Boston Celtics. Having the chance to make a run at Cam Reddish, Ja Morant, Bol Bol or any of the top picks not named R.J. Barrett or Zion Williamson is a shot Clippers are willing to take.
Trading Boban Marjanovic, Tobias Harris and Mike Scott signaled this intention meaning Doc Rivers team will field a younger, slightly weaker team in the final phase of the season. In a loss to Denver Nuggets, Clippers started Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Patrick Beverley, Luke Shamet, Danilo Gallinari and Ivica Zubac. Rolling out such lineups doesn’t help get wins but that aids Lakers push since LeBron’s team is just wins behind Clippers 31 game wins for the season. Should San Antonio Spurs poor run extend for a while, the Lakers could land in seventh place with two or three straight wins.
Sacramento Kings cant be trusted that much
Sandwiched between the two Los Angeles teams is another team based in the State of California-Sacramento Kings. The team with the longest playoff less streak in the NBA is riding high this season posting a winning record for the first time since 2007. Led by De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, Sacramento looks to have turned the corner from a forgotten spot in the league to a young exciting group with plenty of upside.
The latter part was echoed by Draymond Green and Kevin Durant of Golden State Warriors who clinched a 125-123 win over Kings after the All Star game. But Sacramento’s big youth movement has its downside too as witnessed in the loss to Golden State recently but Sacramento’s shock 119-116 win over OKC Thunder in a game they were not expected to win speaks volumes about trust issues on the team’s chances to end the 12 year playoff drought.
Lakers have the world’s best player in LeBron
The Los Angeles Lakers have big ammo in its arsenal that Sacramento dreams of having and that is having the world’s best player in LeBron James on its side. The King is facing a daunting task to get Lakers to the postseason but James has done the improbable by taking flawed Cleveland Cavaliers teams over the years to consecutive NBA Finals and is trusted enough to deliver a playoff berth.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
