Los Angeles Lakers: 5 NBA rivals if they were Disney villains
The Los Angeles Lakers are resuming their title bid at Disney World.
We’ve reached a strange lull in the post-COVID-19 NBA season. We don’t have a documentary “The Last Dance” to scratch that basketball itch while we wait for basketball to return. With July 31 being confirmed as the date the league will restart barring unforeseen events, there’s very little speculation or conjecture about the fate of the 2019-20 season.
Even the mystery surrounding the outcome of this season’s fantasy basketball leagues has been resolved, with both ESPN and Yahoo opting to end the season with their current standings.
As a basketball writer, this leaves me in the unprecedented position of being in the middle of a season, yet having very little actual basketball to write about.
However, the lull has the benefit of forcing me to be creative and write something I wouldn’t normally write. I’m normally all about using analytics and X’s and O’s to create a compelling narrative, but this article is going to be a little more fun.
The NBA making its eventual grand return in Disney World of all places sounds like something you’d see in a movie. It’s actually quite fitting, as the league can often feel like an elaborate story concocted by an eccentric director. Each season has numerous twists and turns, as well as clear-cut heroes and villains that you can’t help rooting for or against.
A few months ago, our own Jason Reed wrote an article outlining some of the biggest Laker villains according to a poll we ran on our Twitter. Inspired by Jason’s article and inspired by the new home of the NBA, I’ve decided to equate five Laker “villains” to their equivalent Disney villain. Unlike Jason, I didn’t run a fan poll to decide who my five villains were, but I will explain why I see them as a villain in the Laker Universe.
Before I commence, an honorable mention goes to Russell Westbrook as Cruella de Vil. Despite the general disdain for Westbrook around the league, he missed the cut due to not having done anything to earn the ire of Los Angeles Lakers‘ fans. However, with the whacky outfits he regularly wears, is it that much of a stretch to envision him wearing a Dalmatian fur coat?