After a triumphant (and protracted) 2019-20 season, the Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA championship.
The year 2020 has been a terrible one for our nation. Between the novel coronavirus pandemic, shootings and killings of Black individuals that have reignited social justice protests and the stress and hand-wringing surrounding the presidential election, it feels like we’ve been repeatedly smacked upside the head.
Yet, in some ways, it’s been a great year for Southern California, as both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the world championship of their respective sports.
Of course, in this region, it’s not good enough to win one championship; you need to win multiple championships, if not run off a dynasty.
In the past couple of weeks, the Lakers have officially started their title defense by fortifying a roster that was already the best in the NBA.
The moves they’ve made stand in stark contrast to the ones made during the Kobe Bryant era. Back then, by and large, the team stood pat after winning the championship, allowing their players to become long in the tooth.
This year, however, executive Rob Pelinka has been anything but complacent.
However, there are already some in the media who are saying that the Lakers will not win the 2021 NBA championship and that other teams, especially the Los Angeles Clippers, had a better offseason.
I think those people should be required to undergo a mandatory mental illness screening, but for the sake of Laker Nation, here are five reasons why our team can (and hopefully) will be the world champions again sometime in July.