10. Moving On from the Mamba
As much as fans will deny it, watching Kobe Bryant last season was similar to watching Tiger Woods over the past few years. Having grown so used to their dominance, seeing both men become a shell of their former selves was almost unbearable to watch.
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However, after going out in classic Kobe fashion, finishing his storied career with a bang, next season will be a guilt-free breathe of fresh air.
No longer will we have to worry about the Kobe Bryant Farewell Tour, or one of the men who enabled it.
9. Bye Bye Byron
Some believe that criticizing Byron Scott the coach takes away from what he accomplished as a player, but that’s not the case at all. Often times great players make awful coaches, just ask Magic Johnson.
This season the Lakers will finally be able to embrace the new age of basketball, one they should have started striving towards last season. Even with the Lakers’ most recent strange decision to keep Metta World Peace over Anthony Brown, the team is already off to a better start than the Byron Era.
8. Hello Luke
Luke Walton has already done a great job gaining the respect of his locker room and the comments from his players speak directly to this.
Simply by watching the new look Lakers, it is readily apparent that the offense is already flowing a whole lot more than last season even with minimal practice time. I think I’ve seen the team set more screens and run more plays in preseason than they ran all of last year.
Luke is determined to bring the success he found up in the Bay down to Los Angeles and he seems to have the pieces to do just that.