Examining which Game of Thrones houses a few Lakers legends would belong in
If you’re a human being right now that doesn’t watch the HBO series Game of Thrones, it feels like you’re in the minority of the world at this point. It’s the show that simply captivates fans by the millions every time that it’s on and it’s returning for Season 6 on Sunday, April 24 with many stories that fans are pining to find some kind of resolution to.
When it comes to the world of Game of Thrones, one of the things that stands out the most about the seven kingdoms is the distinct characteristics and tales of the many Houses and family names throughout the plot. The plot is wide-reaching and sprawling for the most part, but what that does is really give fans and viewers a scope of this fictional world and allow them to identify with the present and the history of this world as it pertains to each of these particular Houses.
With what fans can learn about these houses, though, it’s interesting to look at real-life people and wonder where they would fit in Game of Thrones, meaning what House their personalities or personal journeys fit the neatest into if they were a part of Westeros.
As such, that’s something we tried to figure out in the context of some of the legends in Lakers lore. We took a look at a handful of greats in the history of the franchise and determined which House they’d belong in. These are our conclusions.
NOTE: If you’ve never watched Game of Thrones and don’t want any spoilers, just stop here. There are plenty that follow.
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Metta World Peace — Wildling
Oh, come on; this one is just too easy!
Lakers funs indubitably have a soft spot in their hearts for Metta World Peace and for good reason, even if watching him play now is quite difficult. And while he may not be an all-time great in regards to performance, there’s no denying that the forward has had a lasting impact on the franchise. Equally as true is that Ron Metta Artest Peace is the embodiment of a wildling. He’s a free spirit unwilling to be tied down by conventions or under the rules of anyone but himself. Moreover, he lives in a world all to his own, north of the proverbial wall. It’s just all too perfect.
Byron Scott — House Frey or House Lannister
Whether willingly or innately, Byron Scott is the villain in this story. For his characteristics of House Frey, his decisions are hope-killers more often than not. As far as Lannisters go, Byron is an ancient house with decades of credit built up. However, he’s now left desperately hanging on to yesteryear as he’s slowly losing power. And even if that stressfully and frustratingly takes another year to happen, there’s no doubt that Byron is the villain in this tale for the Lakers.
These are just me having a bit of fun before getting into the actual all-time greats. Let’s dive into those now, starting with the Big Diesel.
Next: Shaquille O'Neal
Shaq — House Martell
If you’ll recall Game of Thrones Season 4 when Oberyn Martell came to Kings Landing for the wedding of Joffrey “Baratheon,” Oberyn was quite possibly the best character to come form the show. He also was largely the embodiment of House Martell and the people of Dorne—and holy crap is it reminiscent of Shaquille O’Neal as both a person and basketball player.
Using Prince Oberyn, The Red Viper, as the primary example, you’re talking about a man who is one of the most skilled, fierce, and untouchable warriors in all of the seven kingdoms. He was truly a force to be reckoned with and he essentially took down the biggest, baddest man in Westeros—The Mountain—with ease. However, he was also a fun-loving guy consumed and guided by a confusing and lackadaisical interior compass. When he could have finished off The Mountain, he instead was more concerned with his own personal gain rather than the larger objective—and it ultimately cost him.
Quite honestly, that’s eerily similar to the arc of Shaq, especially with the Lakers. There haven’t been many players in the history of the NBA that have been the presence that Shaq was when he was in Los Angeles. He was truly a tour de force night after night. And while he helped win the Lakers three titles in a glorious flash, that reign ended all too soon due to personal difference and a guy like Shaq’s personal approach not fully being in line with the reality of the situation with the Lakers.
Next: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — House Tyrell
More than anyone else on this list, it was relatively hard to think of a Great House from Game of Thrones to put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in. Though he was obviously unbelievably great over his career as one of the greatest Lakers and one of the greatest NBA players of all time. However, he didn’t spend his whole career with the Lakers (which rules out anything associated with loyalty) and he just sort of showed and simply dominated without too much sound or fury around him.
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Of course, that’s when it hit me that he was a perfect fit for House Tyrell and all that they do when they come down from Highgarden in the Game of Thrones universe.
Though they may never be the first characters or House that comes to mind when you think about the show and the universe, they’re always there and always seem to have their finger on the trigger for a huge power play. The excessively charming and dangerous Olenna Tyrell is undoubtedly a huge part of this as she’s always playing a bigger game and that in turn leaves Margaery Tyrell doing the same. Sure, the Queen (Margaery) and her broth Loris had some trouble at the end of Season 5, but you can’t deny the consistency, longevity, and shockingly huge presence of House Tyrell in everything that happens.
All of that is why I think Kareem belongs as a part of their House. He’s great without question, but it might just take you a second to see and recognize it among all of the flamboyance from the other Houses/players around.
Next: Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson — House Stark
This is actually my favorite comparison out of all of them. There’s no denying when you watch Game of Thrones that the Starks are largely viewed as the heroes who simply aren’t made to have the happy ending. And while Magic Johnson is certainly out here living his life to the fullest now, it’s impossible to deny that he too was the hero of the Lakers whose time with the team and in the league unceremoniously and tragically came to an end.
Take your pick when it comes to the tragic tale of House Stark as to which sad story you want to choose from. You can talk about Ned Stark in Season 1 who went from Warden of The North to Hand of the King to being headless in the matter of just a few months. Or you have someone like Rob Stark who looked to be the hero that was going to change everything and bring good to the world, but was then shocking slain at the Red Wedding along with his bride, unborn child, and his mother.
When you think about Magic and how incredible he was as a player for the Lakers and how that all came crumbling down so quickly with his announcement that he was HIV positive, it’s hard not to look at him in this regard. He’s undoubtedly the noble one, a hero that many Lakers fans can’t look at in any kind of negative light when it comes to his playing days. However, it all ended too suddenly due to a catastrophic event.
Next: Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant — House Targaryen
Obviously there’s no question that Kobe Bryant is going to be House Targaryen, one of the dragon-riders and the longest and most historical lineage in the seven kingdoms. While there are certainly some great comparisons if you just wanted to look at the canon of Game of Thrones as a television series and specifically Daenerys, Kobe being House Targaryen as a whole really suits him as a whole going way back into the history of the House.
When you think back on the history of the Targaryen’s in Westeros, they once reigned over everyone with an iron fist, which is pretty similar to how Kobe has always been as a leader with his maniacal competitiveness and so on. Though it’s for far different reasons than The Mad King in Game of Thrones, The Mad King wouldn’t have been a bad alternative nickname for The Black Mamba.
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However, where the parallels really hit home are when you talk about Kobe’s career arc and how he rose to power with the Lakers with those early 2000s teams alongside Shaq. He then suffered a fall from grace, though, and came out of power. But much like with Dany coming along, the power and the conquerer side of Kobe returned when Pau Gasol arrived and more titles were won and glory achieved. However, the last image we have of Dany and Kobe is one where they are still mighty, but with glory seemingly being quite distant.
Nonetheless, this is the only choice for Kobe—because what other Laker would you have taming and riding dragons?