The Lakers’ championship mentality will be put to the test in the NBA Finals

In recent years, the Los Angeles Lakers have been a young team. For context, during the 2017-18 season, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was one of the most experienced players on the team despite being only 24 years old.

The Lakers tried to add veteran talent to their young team last season, when they signed LeBron James to a four-year, $ 154 million deal, but things were not fixed in time and their playoff drought extended to six years. Additionally, James’ 13-year playoff streak came to an end.

With a 35-year-old James on their roster, the Lakers got into winning mode now and traded most of their young talent for Anthony Davis last summer. Then, they surrounded their superstar tandem with a veteran supporting cast. And not just any veteran cast: A veteran cast made up of players who have won NBA championships as recently as last year.

Of the six players the Lakers signed or re-signed in free agency last summer, five of them had already reached the NBA Finals at least once, and four of them have won at least one NBA championship. . In all, the Lakers have seven players who have played in the NBA Finals at least once in their careers.

The player on the team that most recently won a championship is Danny Green, who was the guard for the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors. Green believes the team’s collective experience of playing and winning on the biggest stage in the NBA will be beneficial to them in this year’s Finals, where they will see a Miami Heat team made up of young players making their first Finals appearances. .

“It’s a group of guys who don’t care about the accolades, they don’t care about getting their numbers or points or winning the MVP. It’s just a bunch of old folks who have been there before and are trying to do it again, “Green said. “We’ve done it on different teams, at different conferences, on different shores: JaVale and Quinn in Golden State, Rondo in Boston, me in other cities, Bron in different cities.

“We have a lot of guys who have played the Finals, the Western Conference Finals at different times, and we’ve all played against each other and we’ve respected each other. And when you can, it’s special to be able to come together and do it together as a group, ”Green said. “I think we have that advantage in most teams. Hopefully we can put it together and solve it. We’ve been working things out on the fly much better than I’ve noticed with other bands I’ve been with. “

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images

However, not everyone at the Lakers has that experience. For example, Frank Vogel, the team’s head coach, has never been to the Finals, thanks in large part to the Heat’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra (and LeBron). Davis will also make his first Finals appearance this season.

So how have they managed to get into a collective championship mentality this season? Acting like they’ve been there before.

“We have a lot of guys who have never been here before and who already behave like champions,” Vogel said. “There’s that old phrase ‘champions behave like champions before they are champions.’ Obviously experience adds value, but the guys here are hungry, whether they have been there or not. “

Obviously that is much easier said than done; Just ask all the teams the Lakers have played in the playoffs so far and the ones that didn’t make it, but it’s easier to adopt a winning mentality with leaders who have seen and done it all. . Add in a few players who are ready for the moment and you have a good mix.

“That ability to perform at a level to become a champion, that’s the most important thing,” Vogel said. “That’s what I feel our entire squad represents.”

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