For a franchise long accustomed to success, 2013 was a year of nightmares for the Lakers. In 86 total games, the Lakers weren’t a mediocre 43-43, with the story lines dominated by injuries and off-the-court drama instead of title aspirations.
Early in the year, we witnessed the Lakers hit rock bottom for the 2012-13 season before crawling and fighting for a spot in the playoffs, securing their position on the last day of the regular season. However, the thrill of the playoffs was severely tainted by the fear of franchise legend Kobe Bryant’s Achilles injury.
After being tossed aside effortlessly by the Spurs in the playoffs, the beginning off-season was filled with campaigns for Dwight Howard’s return to Los Angeles. The game of “Will He or Won’t He” drug on as D12 was courted by a handful of teams. A final decision between the Rockets and Lakers was sloppily handled, with “sources” from everywhere giving out contradicting reports. In the end, Howard left Los Angeles and left the Lakers to pick up the pieces.
Now Laker fans are left watching a team playing with pride, but failing on a nightly basis to get consistent production. Add on the continued injury woes, with all five players to start at point guard for the Lakers this season being injured, and it’s hard times for Lakers Nation. But that didn’t stop us hear at Lake Show Life from looking back at the top, best, and biggest moments from 2013.