Lakers Summer League Recap: Day 1

When I decided to make the trip out here to Las Vegas to catch the young and exciting Lakers, I figured much of my time would stuffed in a small gym, and the vibe would be fun, but nothing crazy.

Boy, was I wrong.

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As we drove up to UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center (which is spelt incorrectly on the front wall – Jerry Tarkanian would be so proud) we noticed something we honestly didn’t anticipate: thousands of cars taking up much of the campus’ sizable parking lot. Maybe I was underselling the summer league and/or Lakers fans, but I was legitimately shocked when we first saw how packed the house might be.

When I finally found a spot somewhere near Carson, Nevada and we made our way up to the gym, I was again taken aback by just how many people were trying to get into the game. There were Lakers jerseys – mostly with “Bryant” written across the back, but the occasional throwback was cool to see and there were “Randle,” Russell” and “Clarkson” jerseys scattered throughout the crowd as well.

Lakers fans are really rallying behind their young core. More on this in a second.

As we found our seats, the game before was jut finishing up. Toronto was playing defending summer league champion Sacramento but the game had felt exactly like an appetizer to the main event. The chips and salsa to the enchiladas, if you will.

Jul 10, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) looks to shoot against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers center Robert Upshaw (12) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Minnesota won the game 81-68. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

When that game finally ended, the anticipation began to mount. You could feel the excitement as the thousands present waited to see their team run onto the court. I can’t emphasize this enough, the tension as we waited was tangible.

Minnesota jogged on for their warm-ups first, a slight pause, and then… Slowly, but surely a minor roar began to erupt. It felt like a playoff game. There were “oooohs” and “aaaaahs” as the layup line took place. Fans were cheering made jumpshots. It was surreal, man.

Which brings me to my point: Those who claimed the Lakers might be losing the fanbase to any extent at all are kidding themselves. Sure, it makes for the catchy headline, the attention grabbing quote; but the take is asinine. Ironically, many of those who’ve been making that case were absent from the activities yesterday. I won’t mention any names, but Schmill Schmlaschke should’ve been there.

When the pregame activities were behind us and we were ready for the tip (the teams started facing the wrong direction. There was plenty of rust) you could cut the anticipation with a knife.

Karl-Anthony Towns inauspiciously airballed a three-pointer to start, much to the crowd’s pleasure. “Bust,” I said to the guy next to me – ironically, of course. Russell, on the other hand, drew a shooting foul and we were underway.

Sure the Lakers’ summer league team lost, but the franchise will chalk this up as a win.

There’s really no point in recapping a game that ended more than 14 hours ago. The game played out as you’d expect, honestly. Rookies showed flashes of why we’re so excited to watch them grow and the guys returning from last year showed the improvement we’d hope to notice. Those articles have been written already. The outcome has nothing to do with the overriding point I’m making: Lakers fans were excited yesterday. It’s crazy that I’d have to point that out, but think about it. When was the last time you were legitimately excited to watch this franchise play any kind of game? You’d have to go back a few years.

Sure the Lakers’ summer league team lost, but the franchise will chalk this up as a win.

As we made our way from the arena, a line was stretching around the building. Right near the end of the game, it was announced Jordan Clarkson would be signing autographs. The line was, presumably, for fans to meet the Lakers’ most exciting player face to face.

In many ways, this pretty much summed up at least that first day. Clarkson has gone from the disappointment of waiting for 45 other names to be called and having been sold by the team that initially drafted him to an incredibly successful rookie season and getting to see his jerseys littering the Las Vegas gym. That people were lined up afterward for a chance to meet him had to be a pretty cool feeling.

His Lakers are similarly overcoming a certain lack of momentum, at least before this offseason. But they’ve recovered, it would appear, pretty drastically.

So, from Las Vegas, I sign off of the first day with this as a glimpse of the future. I can’t believe I have three more of these days.

Next: Lakers Sign Robert Upshaw To 2-Year Deal