Despite reports to the contrary the Los Angeles Lakers had a productive off-season. The desire and effort to improve is evident. The Lakers were ridiculed for having money to spend and not landing one of the top free agents on the market. As a matter of fact the list of top available free agents read LaMarcus Aldridge, Demarcus Cousins, DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love, Jimmy Butler, David West, Draymond Green and Paul Pierce among others. All of these NBA veterans are talented players that would make an impact on any team, but with all due respect none of them are what you would call landscape changing additions. To put it differently by having this player on your team makes your team a championship contender. The Lakers were able to secure the …show more content…
and small forward Anthony Brown. Recently, ESPN released their Summer forecasts for the 2015 – 2016 NBA season, which placed the Lakers 14th in the Western Conference with a record of 26-56, a mere five win improvement over their 2014-2015. Not exactly what the purple and gold faithful want to hear coming off of a 21-61 record, worse in franchise history. Putting things in proper perspective, the Western Conference is loaded, five or more teams will win 55+ games and at least seven playoff slots are already locked up. When you discuss the Western Conference playoffs teams, in no particular order, you must mention 1) Golden State Warriors 2) San Antonio Spurs 3) Oklahoma City Thunder 4) Memphis Grizzlies 5) L.A. Clippers 6) Houston Rockets 7) New Orleans Pelicans 8) Dallas Mavericks. It is debateable to state, with certainty, that the Lakers are better than the Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz or Sacramento Kings today. The Lakers have the talent to exceed ESPN’s Summer Forcast and win 30-35 games.The Lakers are moving in the right direction and have more talent on their roster than last year. The purple and gold have a good mix of veterans and young
... have had lottery picks giving them a bright outlook for the future. This move almost secures yet another lottery pick giving them more young talent.
additional ten million dollars in loses and he sold the team a year later (Lang
During the first year of Magic Johnson as the owner, the fan attendance went up 8.6 percent. "When I got off the boat in L.A. (in 1979), the Dodgers were on the first page of the sports section," said Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "I checked the Lakers on the third page. That's how far down we were. I said, 'Wow, this was a Dodger town.' Three things: Dodgers, No. 1. USC footba...
After experiencing the many changes that downtown Oklahoma City has gone through, it is easy to say that the Oklahoma City Thunder establishment has played a huge role in making it all happen. If one compares the condition that Oklahoma is in now to the condition it was in 8 years ago, major differences will be shown, because of the involvement of the Thunder. Oklahoma is now on the map with much recognition from the Thunder and also the state is a better community, spreading joy and friendliness because of the involvement the Thunder has put in.
First, let me start off with the career of Kobe Bean Bryant who is currently on the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe was first drafted into the NBA in the year 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets, but was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The most amazing part about him being drafted was that
In an article, College basketball's so-called one-and-done rule needs revisiting, Dylan Hernandez quotes Kobe Bryant, "It didn't make any sense. " Kobe doesn't say anything more about this because I think it kind of speaks for itself. Kobe Bryant, did not go to college, he went to the NBA right out of high school and now look where he is at now. I'm not saying that all one and done players are going to be NBA stars, but at least we can give them a chance.
To understand the phenomenal standard at which the Dream Team performed at, it is necessary to look at the statistics that they recorded. During the 1992 Olympics, the American basketball team averaged 117 ¼ points per game (Cottrell 1). This is remarkable, and partly due to the fact that this was the first Olympic games where professional basketball players were allowed to compete. Before this year, numbers like this were unprecedented in the games. Along with putting up with insane numbers, they not only held their opponents to 73 ½ points a game, but beat their competitors by an average of 44 points (“NBA” 1). These are just a few examples of the impact the Dream Team made on international basketball that year. It is easy to understand why the team has such a famous connotation to the name. The numbers that the American basketball team put up in Barcelona that summer will forever go down in history.
The team has done an excellent job of scouting international players that deliver excellent value on the court and help market the team to a wider target of international audience. The Spurs have a deep fan following in Latin America because of drafting the likes...
While Los Angeles has shocked many NFL fans and analysts with their hot start this season. We have to look back at how they’ve made it to this point. It
First, college basketball has paid off by losing its most talented players to the NBA as many as three years early. This has resulted in not only an overall lessening of the game, but in certain circumstances caused the downfall of once great basketball programs. This is how it happens, as colleges recruit players based on what their needs are or what they will need shortly in the future. So let us say that one school has a great core of sophomore and junior players for the upcoming season. The coaches do not have the need or the room for many new top-notch players.
In overtime, behind and with little time on the clock Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook sinks an off balanced three and pushes the Thunder past the Golden State Warriors 113-112. This happened on November 29th, 2013 but 9 years prior this was all a dream of the people in Oklahoma City. It all started on August 29, 2005 when hurricane Katrina released hell on New Orleans. Most of New Orleans was destroyed by flood waters. This caused the New Orleans Hornets to temporarily relocate to Oklahoma City. They played in Oklahoma City for two seasons before New Orleans was able to host them again. These two seasons created national attention toward Oklahoma City for the great fan base and prospective city for a new team. A group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clay Bennett buy the Sonics franchise. After the 2007-2008 season the Seattle Super Sonics file relocation papers to relocate to Oklahoma City. When they get to
The NBA should develop a differentiation leadership strategy. Events that the NBA has organized are becoming irrelevant when compared to its rivals’. For example, the MLB’s All-Star Game has an impact on post-season results. The MLS’s All-Star game features the league’s best against top European soccer clubs. The NHL’s All-Star Game features a ton of scoring in a sport that typically has low scores. There is no novelty factor for the NBA during its All-Star Weekend. Only the NFL’s Pro Bowl is worse than the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in terms of entertainment value.
The NBA is well known for the number of amazing professional athletes it has had over the years. Some of the most gifted and talented individuals come through the NBA and one of the better-known superstars is none other than Kobe Bryant. For years people have wondered what makes Bryant so successful. The main contributors that lead to Kobe Bryant’s success is his hard work and dedication, his mindset, his natural ability’s and talent, and the people that have helped him throughout his life. Kobe Bryant was very successful in the NBA because of the amount of hard work he has put in, the people in his life, his relentless determination and his god given natural abilities.
“Jeremy Lin may be the impetus that takes a country already gaga over basketball and makes it the next basketball power. You reach a critical point when you have interest, ...
The losing season can be accounted for by two main concerns: One, there is an extreme lack of defensive effort, and two, negative attitudes have flared up because of frustrations between the players. These attitudes are causing more than just team problems, though; they are causing issues in the players' friendships off the basketball court. No sports team likes to lose, but because poor playing is hurting the team both on and off the court, affirmative action must be taken. Increased work on defense and shutting down the negative attitudes towards fellow teammates will not only help increase communication and trust, but it will also increase the chances of winning games throughout the rest of the season.