When the Los Angeles Lakers won their last championship in 2010, they did so in front of their fans at the Staples Center. The year before, in 2009, the Lakers held their championship on the floor of the Orlando Magic, with a mix of fans from both teams watching.
If the Lakers win it all this year again, they won’t celebrate in front of any fans, rivals or otherwise, due to the threat of the coronavirus. The possibility of playing the rest of the season without fans first arose in March, so players have had enough time to accept their new reality. However, it has not yet come true because they have not yet returned to court. All of that will change later this month.
In a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Anthony Davis spoke about the challenges the Lakers could face in a game without fans, and how they plan to overcome it.
“Obviously we feed on the Laker Nation. At home and on the go, ”Davis said. “Obviously it will be very different not being able to have them by our side during this time, but everyone is going to deal with it.” It is going to be more a mental thing than another thing.
“If you’re going to go out having a bad game, there will be no fans trying to help you. You will have to, as we say in the team, ‘bring your own energy’. We will have to make sure we do it every night, especially without fans. I think we are motivated as a team and motivated to win, but it will definitely be different for all of us. ”
The games will also feel different for fans at home. During a normal NBA broadcast, fan noise is an important part of the virtual game experience, so it will be interesting to see if the league decides to try and replicate that experience using the noise of the NBA 2K crowd as Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last month, or if they will emphasize player interaction on the court through camera angles and unique microphones.
The Lakers will test fanless games for the first time on July 23, when they face the Dallas Mavericks in a friendly game. Their first official fan-free game will be on July 30, when they will face their long-distance rivals, the LA Clippers, for the fourth and final time this season.
The Lakers won their last showdown with the Clippers, but the Clippers might have an advantage this time around, not because their star players are well rested, but because they are used to playing without fans in the stands. Boom, roast.
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