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Before there was the Crypto Arena, there was the Staples Center, and before there was the Staples Center, there was the LA Forum where “SHOWTIME” was originally conceived and brought to life for all NBA fans to witness in the 1980s. The man that led the dazzling fast breaks up and down the LA Forum was none other than the best point guard ever to grace the NBA hardwood floors, Ervin “Magic” Johnson. Although Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss was destined to draft Ervin number #1 in 1979, there was no question that Magic was preordained to be in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform throughout his entire NBA career, and forever be drenched in purple and gold.

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Is there anything more “HOLLYWOOD” than the fancy no-look passes that bounced from teammate to teammate, which caused echoes of oohs and aahs to bounce off the LA Forum walls from fans? These certain types of unique plays, not only caused the LA Forum to consistently sell out, which was a rarity for the NBA at the time, but it also brought out the best of Hollywood in attendance. Big names such as Jack Nicholson, Chris Rock, Denzel Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Snoop Dogg all have had the great pleasure of sitting courtside at a Lakers game over the past 40 years.

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If you think the Lakers organization were primarily concerned with glitter, flash, and a compelling half-time show featuring the Laker girls, then you’re unfortunately mistaken. The Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s were a championship team that played with cohesiveness, and a mindset that the team was above individuality. This unselfish mentality brought championship hardware, and championship banners to the illustrious franchise. Not to mention, they did it the old fashioned way….the hard way, by beating Larry Bird, and the Boston Celtics to win 2 out of the 5 NBA championships in the 1980s. When we’re talking about team play, were talking about AC Green, Michael Cooper, Bryon Scott, James Worthy, Bob McAdoo, and yes,…Kurt Rambis! What started as a basic sky hook demonstrated by Kareem Abdul-Jabar, slowly developed into a coach on the sidelines sporting a slick back hairdo and wearing expensive Armani suits, with an innovating owner who turned this insignificant franchise at one time into one of the most recognizable, and wealthiest brands in all of sports history today….the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Fast Forward from the late 80s into the mid 90s where Lakers legend and General Manager Jerry West has a good hunch about a young 17 year-old kid from Lower Marion High School in Philadelphia. The 6 foot 6 Kobe Bean Bryant was originally drafted number 13 in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets, however on draft night Jerry West pulled out a heist of a lifetime by trading center Vlade Divac for Kobe. Obviously, if you look at this trade on paper today, it seems outright laughable, heck it seems highly egregious that 12 other professional NBA scout teams completely missed the boat on greatness. At the very beginning of Kobe’s career you couldn’t see any shades or resemblance of a superstar athlete as he sat on the bench for the most of the season, and played very few minutes per game.

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As a rookie he averaged 7.6 points per game, and was thought of as cocky, arrogant, and aloof from teammates, and media members. However, these are the certain types of traits that compelled and motivated Kobe to be Kobe as he came back year after year better than ever. From averaging 7.6 points per game in 1996 to averaging 28.5 points per game in 2000, and help lead Shaquille O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers to their first championship since 1988. The Lakers roster in the early 2000s was stacked from top to bottom, which drove this particular team to win back to back to back NBA Championships. You had Derrick Fisher at point guard, Horace Grant, and Rick Foxx were grabbing every loose defensive rebound, Brian Shaw was somehow always open in the corner for a three pointer, and Robert Horry “BIG SHOT BOB” was always in the right spot at the right time to bail out the Lakers in the final seconds of a close game. At the end of the 2002 season, the Lakers were in elite company, as they were the 2nd team in NBA history to win 3 straight NBA Championships next to the Chicago Bulls who were the first team ever to accomplish this feat.

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Unfortunately, things would quickly spiral downwards in 2003 as the drama that surfaced in the locker room and behind the scenes between Kobe and Shaq began to spill over into the national media. Shaq and Kobe were officially at war with one another. There was a power struggle in LA, and the deciding factor was, “who’s team was it?”In 2004 Lakers General Manager, Mitch Kupchak would make the decision, and it belonged to Kobe Bryant. In the 2004 offseason the Los Angeles Lakers management sent Shaq packing to the Miami Heat, and officially gave over the keys to the team to Kobe Bryant.

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All the pressure was now on Kobe to deliver a championship to the city of LA as the true alpha of the team and without any assistance from the 7 foot 1 Shaquille O’Neal. In life you have to be careful for what you ask for because the next four years, the Lakers would struggle season after season before finally making it back to the NBA Finals in 2008 against the Boston Celtics. Nonetheless, the Celtics would close out the series in six games to beat the Lakers and win their 17th NBA championship in Celtic’s franchise history. Although this was a tough, and emotional loss for Kobe, and the Lakers, they would come back the following year in 2009 to beat the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. This particular championship was a special one for the “black mamba” because it proved that Kobe could win a ring without the assistance of Shaq, and more importantly it cemented Kobe’s legacy as the true leader of a winning franchise.

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Kobe’s championship run didn’t just stop there, the black mamba would end up getting sweet revenge against the Boston Celtics in 2010 to win his 5th and final championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. From that point forward Kobe’s career was riveted with injuries year after year as father time continued to knock on Kobe’s front door. If it wasn’t a shoulder injury, it was a torn achilles tendon, or a fractured knee which convinced Kobe that it was time to hang up the jersey and retire from the game of basketball. After Kobe Bryant made the decision to publicly retire, it became official that the 2016 NBA season would become known as Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour. This tour would allow basketball fans from all across the world to celebrate the illustrious career of Kobe Bean Bryant, which was filled with blood, sweat, and tears on any given night on the basketball court.

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As he traveled from city to city, and arena to arena, he was welcomed with standing ovations from fans all over the country, and yet on Kobe’s last game of his career, it would turn out to be his most epic game ever! On April 13th 2016, it was the Utah Jazz visiting the Los Angeles Lakers for the final chapter of Kobe’s career. A few Hollywood stars and celebrities were in attendance from Kanye West, Jack Nicholson, Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, and many of Kobe’s past teammates were there to provide support to the black mamba. Since Hollywood was out in full affect, what is it a pure coincidence that there was a magical script being written before our own eyes? Is there anything more theatrical than a Lakers legend closing out his final 20 year career and scoring 60 points in a thriller close game that gave you goosebumps, whether you watched it live in person, or on television in the comfort of your own home? It was an ending that couldn’t be foreseen, and a final heartfelt thank you message from Kobe to his fans stating, “MAMBA OUT”!

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RAMS LOSE 24-19

RAMS WIN 20-15

RAMS WIN 30-20

RAMS LOSE 23-15

RAMS LOSE 37-20

CHARGERS WIN 34-27

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