Finally, Frank Vogel of the Lakers prepares to watch the NBA Finals

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, center, watches the action during the first half of an NBA conference postseason basketball game between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, September 26, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill) lyrics

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel was smiling when asked how it felt to finally reach the NBA Finals for the first time, after entering the league in 2001.

“I actually came in ’98,” Vogel said, offering a polite correction.

Either way, the point was clear: this opportunity was a long time coming.

Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Paul Westhead, Bill Sharman and John Kundla all won championships in their first seasons as Lakers coach, and now Vogel has a chance to join that group. The 47-year-old New Jersey native will see the final stage for the first time this week when the Lakers meet the Miami Heat.

“This career achievement is a long way from where I am mentally right now,” Vogel said Saturday night, speaking while wearing the new Lakers Western Conference championship jersey and cap. “I’m just trying to do my part. Give our guys a plan, make sure everyone plays together. “

Makes it look simple.

Nothing was easy. Not this year.

The Lakers are 64-22 this season adding the regular season and playoffs, on track for the seventh-best record in franchise history. For an organization with 16 championships, that’s no small feat.

Vogel’s season began with championship expectations, which are always accompanied by immense pressure. He had to carry his team through a difficult preseason by getting caught up in the political feud between China and the NBA, a disaster that erupted to a very nasty level when the Lakers were in China last October. And then came the devastation on January 26, when Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash.

“It has been great. It’s been incredible, ”Lakers forward LeBron James said of Vogel. “I mean, it’s been a crazy obstacle course for our franchise this whole year. … He has been able to handle it all the time. Bring on boys, lose boys. He has always been the anchor and our coaching staff has supported him. I can’t say anything more than that. “

The Lakers were babbling in their early days in the bubble, the offense being the lowest of the 22 Disney teams.

Vogel was never fazed. And the Lakers are 12-3 in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The sizzle was long forgotten.

“He trusts us,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said. “And that is the only thing you can ask of a coach is to trust his players. But at the same time. we have to trust him. “

There is so much irony that can be found surrounding Vogel’s first trip to the NBA Finals.

First, it comes on the outskirts of Orlando, where Vogel trained for two lousy seasons and fell when he was fired in April 2018 because the Magic had a roster that featured a poor combination of too little talent and too many injuries.

Then it comes with James playing for him instead of against him, like he was when the Miami Heat ended Vogel’s seasons with the Indiana Pacers in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Those Heat and Pacers teams just hated each other. Vogel ended up leaving the Pacers as their NBA-era leader in coaching wins, then had two bad seasons in Orlando, and the final seemed a long way off.

“You always wonder,” Vogel said. “I always had the hope of having another chance. I kept trusting my faith in myself. “

It has always been a trademark of Vogel.

Vogel fell in love with the game as a child, his first touch of fame came when he was 13 when he appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman” and spun a basketball on one end of a toothbrush while using the bristle end. . on your teeth.

“You’re going to get all the teeth out of your head doing this,” Letterman said.

The teeth were fine. The trick he learned at basketball camp is still in his arsenal. Clearly, you have added a few more skills along the way.

He eventually made his way to Kentucky and was noticed by then-Wildcats coach Rick Pitino. After Pitino jumped into the NBA (and Vogel earned his Kentucky degree in biology), he brought Vogel to the Celtics as a video coordinator.

A career began. And more than two decades later, a ring is four victories away from Vogel’s finger.

“This race is about LeBron James and Anthony Davis and all the guys that they bought into their roles and about the Lakers family that is used to being in this position and used to being in the finals, used to winning championships,” Vogel said. . “It’s been a long time for them and it’s been a difficult number of years out of the playoffs. So it’s really about them. “

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