Los Angeles Lakers: The top five moments of 2020

1. The Los Angeles Lakers win their 17th championship for Kobe

It was a season unlike any other. We lost the greatest Laker of them all far before his time; we saw the league stop in its tracks due to a global pandemic; we watched NBA players become social justice leaders in the largest civil rights movement of our time; we saw the league stop on a day sports will never forget to remind us how much Black Lives Matter after Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times.

The Lakers postponed only four games in their 73-year history before 2020. This year alone, they postponed three games due to the aforementioned tragedies. All of these tragedies affected the league, but the Lakers were certainly most deeply affected by Kobe’s passing.

There was no better way to honor Kobe than by winning the championship. Kobe always believed that the goal of every season should be a championship. “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – it’s all an opportunity for me to rise,” said the late, great Kobe Bryant.

That’s why this one meant so much more. Lakers fans had waited a decade for this title and made it through some of the worst starting lineups in Laker history.

Finally, after such a tough season it was time to rejoice. LeBron won his fourth title against the team he won his first with — the Miami Heat. Anthony Davis won his first title with more to come. Dwight Howard found redemption with the Lakers and Rondo won a title with the team that beat him.

With the Lakers’ latest additions, the time is now for the next Laker dynasty. With the contracts they have locked in, a threepeat may be in their destiny so in the words of Kobe Bryant, “Job’s not finished.”