Then, incredibly: On January 26, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Ginna, were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles. Bryant, the iconic and polarizing star, spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, winning five championships, before retiring in 2016.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was among Bryant’s close friends, and many current players respected him. Bryant and his daughter’s artwork appeared in and around the city. Fans left flowers and handwritten notes at the team’s practice facility. A public memorial was held at the Staples Center, where Beyonc ગ sang and Michael Jordan wept.
Only two weeks later, due to a coronavirus epidemic, the season was postponed indefinitely. As the interval dragged on, protests against police brutality and racial injustice were displayed, and many players used their platforms as celebrities to draw attention to those issues. Some even questioned whether the tu should be canceled so that no disruption occurs.
Yet through all of that – disasters, big and small – the Lakers remained committed to chasing the franchise’s first championship since 2010, which was also Bryant’s last title.
In the final, James and his teammates warmed up in T-shirts that read, “Vote.” And during the relaunch, they also occasionally wore black uniforms that Bryant helped design.
“It means something,” James said, “something more than a uniform.”
Winning a championship has never been easier, and one of the challenges of winning this season was unique. Consider the Milwaukee Bucks, who have the best regular-season record in the league – and Giannis Antetok oun Nmpo, who won his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player award – but went to the Eastern Conference after struggling to regroup his chemistry after the break. Was. . Consider the Houston Rockets, who (again) tried to rebuild themselves before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
