Kareem's Insider Secrets of Episodes 9 and 10 of "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers"
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Kareem's Insider Secrets of Episodes 9 and 10 of "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers"
Magic Quits, Kobe Retires, LeBron Rules, Buss Family Implodes, Lakers Win NBA Championship
There’s certainly no shortage of heavy drama in Episodes 9 and 10. The years from 2010 to 2020 were the most challenging in the Lakers’ history—and in America’s recent history. Jerry Buss dying, Kobe retiring, Phil Jackson getting fired, COVID-19, and Buss family Borgia-lite in-fighting put the future of the team and the loyalty of the fans in jeopardy.
Being a Laker fan during this time sometimes felt like being a passenger on a creaky bus descending a treacherous, narrow, winding road with a cliff-drop on one side. All while three people wrestle over the steering wheel.
On the other hand, that’s what makes being a Laker fan so exciting.
EPISODE 9
Lakers Beat Celtics in 2010 NBA Finals.
When the Lakers defeated the Celtics by four points in the seventh game to win the NBA Championship, Red Hot Chili Peppers member and Laker superfan gushed in an interview: “I felt I could do anything for the rest of my life.”
That was the perfect expression of what sports means beyond its mere entertainment value. Sure, it’s great to see your team win a Final, especially against our arch-rival Celtics. But when we see a team rise to a challenge and triumph, it makes us all feel we are capable of rising and triumphing in the challenges of life. We don’t have to share their athletic skills, we just have to share their heart, their grit.
Coaching musical chairs.
At the end of 2011, the Lakers fired Phil Jackson’s training staff as a clear indication that Phil would not be returning as head coach. I was part of that staff let go. During that time, Phil was dealing with prostate cancer, which I also had to face. He asked me about my surgical procedure and I filled him in in the gritty details. The end result for me was that the cancer was no longer a threat to my life.
Brian Shaw, Phil’s assistant coach, was endorsed by both Phil and Kobe Bryant to replace Phil, but the Lakers instead chose Mike Brown. Mike Brown was a good coach and a smart choice, but Brian Shaw would probably have been a better choice because he already knew the team well and was familiar with the best way to coach them.
But selecting a coach is often as much a political statement as it is a sports decision. Jimmy Buss wanted to show that we was making a clean break with the Phil Jackson regime and putting forth a new vision. His vision.
By 2012, they fired Mike Brown and asked Phil to return, but then they hired Mike D’Antoni before Phil gave them his decision. These behind-the-scenes machinations can seem very duplicitous and underhanded, but coaches of professional sports teams—like rulers in Game of Thrones—know that backstabbing is considered incidental contact and just part of the game.
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The death of Jerry Buss is the end of an era.
I visited Jerry Buss in the hospital when he was dying. It was a rough time for the Buss family because Jerry had been the emotional and business core that generated warmth and energy holding them together. His players also grieved because Doc had made sure we felt like part of his extended family. Under his leadership, we all had felt respected and wanted.
During my visit to the hospital, Doc and I both expressed our regret that we hadn’t spent more time together getting to know each other. That is a regret I continually face as I’ve gotten older. I see many people I wished I’d made more effort to become closer to, but I suspect that is the regret of most people who cross the partition of seventy. But when I played for the Lakers, both Doc and myself were busy with many other distractions of life that seemed important at the time. Now, they don’t.
Dr. Buss was a respected coin collector at the same time I was starting to collect coins. I wish we’d taken time to discuss our mutual passion because I would have learned a lot. Maybe he thought I should have reached out more, maybe I thought he should have. Maybe both of us thought we had more time. The truth is, we were both poorer for not having made the effort. Writing this makes me want to commit to making that effort more often now.
The Buss family implodes.
It’s an unfortunate irony that Dr. Buss’s dream was to build his sports empire in order to bring his family together, yet it was the gilded wedge that drove them apart. Their conflicts weren’t about money—they all had enough to get along nicely. It was about control of Doc’s legacy and who was the best offspring to fulfill his vision.
Under Jimmy Buss’s supervision, the Lakers seemed to struggle to find their voice, like a bad garage band doing cover songs. Jimmy’s challenge was that when times were good, he was fine at his job. But when times went bad, as they always do in sports, he seemed less focused and interested. He struggled to deal with the ups and downs.
Jeanie was much more level-headed during a crisis and more experienced in managing sports teams. She had a clear vision and she had the determination to make that vision a reality. She was knowledgable and, like her father, was not afraid to listen to advice from those around her.
Kobe’s last hurrah.
My former teammate and good friend Byron Scott was brought in as head coach, which was a great choice. He’d already proven himself capable of coaching teams successfully and he had a close relationship with Kobe. He would be the perfect choice to encourage Kobe during his final seasons.
I watched Kobe’s final game with great enthusiasm. Scoring 60 points is no easy feat. That is the kind of man and athlete Kobe was. He was an artist and he was not afraid to dare to paint his masterpiece in his last game. To achieve those great heights, you have to be willing to risk humiliating defeat. He dared. Over and over again.
There is something magical when you watch an athlete transcend the game he’s in to rise to another level where few ever go. It inspires all of us to at least try. He retired the same way he came into the game: a fearless phenom.
EPISODE 10
Big changes: Luke Walton, Magic Johnson, LeBron James
Kobe’s retirement left a disturbance in the Force. The time-space continuum was distorted. Multiverses threatened to collide.
Luke Walton was brought in as head coach. Magic Johnson, who’d been brought in by Jeanie after firing Mitch Kupchak and Jimmy Buss, wanted to replace Luke and Jeanie disagreed. So, Magic quit. Unfortunately, Magic was right. While Luke was knowledgable and smart, he didn’t have the leadership qualities necessary to steer a ship closing in on an iceberg.
Jeanie realized that soon enough and replaced Luke with Frank Vogel, a much better choice given the circumstances.
LeBron and Anthony Davis arrive to save the Lakers.
I was very hopeful about the Lakers’ chances for another NBA championship when they brought in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. LeBron was a devastating player with great leadership qualities. But a single player cannot win championships. He would need the right teammates to compliment and enhance his abilities.
Anthony Davis was a great choice to do just that. While LeBron was fire, Anthony was ice. LeBron was scorched earth, Anthony was a blinding hail storm. The main issue with Anthony was he was prone to injuries, the same problem Bill Walton had. Both players were willing to give a hundred percent every game, but the injuries make it hard to consistently contreibute.
LeBron on the hunt for my scoring record.
When LeBron passed Kobe as number three on the all-time scoring board, I knew it was just a matter of time before he passed me too. Records are made to be broken. They are a very direct and concrete ways to measure achievement. Unlike art or literature, greatness is not a matter of taste or expert opinion or anything else but the numbers. And every time a record is broken, all people are elevated.
When I broke Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring record in 1984—the year LeBron was born—it bothered Wilt, who’d had a bit of a one-sided rivalry with me since I’d started doing so well in the NBA. I don’t feel that way toward LeBron. Not only will I celebrate his accomplishment, I will sing his praises unequivocally.
My rebounding record is 17,440 and LeBron is at 10,210. It will be exciting to see him break that one next.
Kobe’s shocking death.
The one thing impressed me the most in this episode was how sincere and open everyone interviewed was when discussing each other and their love of the game. I found Shaq discussing his regrets about Kobe especially touching.
I was moved by LeBron talking with such affection about his relationship with Kobe. Everything he said in this episode seemed direct, sincere, and good-hearted. He showed himself to be not just a good player, but a good friend and strong spokesperson for the team.
COVID-19 challenged players not just as athletes but as representatives.
The COVID-19 pandemic jolted America out of its complacency. We were scared, we were isolated, and sometimes we were hopeless. The return of the NBA, even in a greenhouse bubble, did have healing powers on the nation. It was a glimpse of normalcy. That was enough to rekindle hope.
One of the benefits of the bubble was it forced all teams to play under identical circumstances and stresses. That made it a very even playing field.
COVID challenged athletes at their core. Sure, there were financial considerations, but the real issue was that athletes need to play to compete because that’s when they feel most like themselves. Getting vaccinations was an important statement, not just about the desire to play, but about the commitment to community. Black players had a special responsibility to publicly endorse vaccinations because the Black community was hardest hit by the pandemic. The science proved it was saving lives, yet some players felt no need to help save Black lives. This was an opportunity to prove Black Lives Matter.
The NBA responds to George Floyd and Jacob Blake
In 2020, the Black Lives Matter political rallies were the largest protest movement in the history of the U.S. Up to 20 million Americans protested police abuse and systemic racism. Players wore Black Lives Matter t-shirts during warm-ups. They painted Black Lives Matter on the court.
When Wisconsin police shot Jacob Blake four times in the back and three times in the side, leaving him paralyzed, my former team the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play that day. I was so proud of them for taking such a bold and risky stand. I was equally impressed when all the league players met to discuss whether to continue or cancel the rest of the season.
I’m not mad that they chose to continue. It was enough that they showed the world that they had the power and commitment to address social justice.
I find it disappointing that the very vocal protests of two years ago have stopped—even though systemic racism has broadened. The current surge of voter suppression by Republicans across the country, passing laws to make it much harder for Blacks to vote, is a great threat to democracy and to civil rights. Attempts to deny women their civil rights with harsh abortion restrictions is equally troubling. Where are the massive public protests now? Where are those 20 million people?
Not just another championship.
It was the Lakers’ first championship in ten years.
A loud and energetic celebration took place. But this one was different. Seeing the players hugging and crying wasn’t just the usual celebratory glee—it was something much more. These were tears and hugs of achievement, sure, but they were also the emotions of hope.
From the cold ashes of ten years of tragedies, deaths, and collapse of the team spirit, the Lakers were reborn. Hope was restored. No matter what challenges and disappointments they face, the Lakers always seem to find a way to give us hope.
Kareem's Insider Secrets of Episodes 9 and 10 of "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers"
Kobe is the most over-rated player in NBA history. He was a terrible shooter, a bad passer, not a playmaker, not a rebounder. He scored a lot because he shot a lot---often bad shots. What he was was an egotist and narcissist. Put him on the All-Time All-Ego team.
That was a wonderful recap of those years along with a lot of insights and behind-the-scenes knowledge of what all was going on during the turbulent times as well. It was fascinating to learn all that. Also, this has nothing to do with your column today, but I also loved the little subscription pitch in the middle in which you talked about dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court. I have always thought that was the funniest line in the movie "Airplane," and you delivered it perfectly. The first time my son sat down to watch it with me on cable one night he was stunned to see you and asked, "What is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doing in this?" I'd seen the film several times by then, going back to its theatrical release. I told him sit back and watch and he'd see. Then, when you delivered that Walton and Lanier line he cracked up.