Lakers Win!

Despite being born only a few months ago, this blog now has its first champion. The Gods of Sport have spared us an Arizona Cardinals-style wait for an inaugural celebration and, instead, have served up a moment of triumph in only our fourth month of existence, spoiling us rotten. And that it should come from the NBA makes it almost the sweetest it could possibly be, second only to, of course, the NFL’s Rams.

But the Lakers’ 4-1 series win over the Orlando Magic (the team’s fifth championship since I first noticed it existed) has shockwaves which exceed our own little victory parade. It enables the Lakers, for example, to re-set the gap between them and the Celtics in total championships, which temporarily increased after Boston’s win last season; it finally places Phil Jackson ahead of Red Auerbach in terms of rings; it also proved that Pau Gasol can defend – albeit only slightly; but, finally and perhaps most importantly, it shakes the monkey of Kobe Bryant’s back in earning him a championship win as the leading man, thereby helping to cement his place among those with a legendary status.

It has taken a while but it finally arrived at the third time of asking. Kobe’s legacy was always going to be tarnished by the fact that his three rings came in Shaq’s shadow. He benefited from the Big Man and, with Jackson’s coaching, won the first three of what many assumed would be many rings in his career. Unfortunately for him, however, O’Neal’s eventual departure put an end to the streak, forcing many to ponder whether Kobe was capable of leading a team to the championship by himself. The supporting cast of the likes Karl Malone and Gary Payton was not enough for him to prevent Detroit from winning the final series in 2004, and, last year, his team was outplayed by the rival Celtics in a repeat of the 1980’s enmity between both franchises. Like Michael Jordan in the pre-Pippen days, Bryant was looking like a man who, while extremely talented, would end his career as a frustrated man who knows he failed to lead when his team called him.

But the Bryant that we have seen over the last two seasons is very different to O’Neal’s tag-team partner. A much more focused and mature player, he has put his days of sensationalism behind him and concentrated on proving that he could lead a team of champions. Last year’s failure made this year even more important, and Bryant was key in inspiring his team-mates to pick up their game and help him make the dream possible. And, yes, Kobe has had an excellent team around him: the savvy and experienced Derek Fisher, the under-rated Lamar Odom, the promising but oft-injured Andrew Bynum and, of course, Pau Gasol, whose soft play many held responsible for last year’s defeat. Gasol’s years in Memphis proved that he was not a leader of men; instead, he is far more suited as the right-hand man, the James Worthy of this generation of Lakers. His and Kobe’s relationship is a symbiotic one, but it is clear that the Spaniard has been the biggest benefiter from the partnership. His response to Kobe’s challenge – whether it happened or not – was to toughen his game, to develop a more aggressive style that held Dwight Howard in check and allowed Kobe to win the series with an MVP-winning performance. And with Coach Phil in the sidelines, the script was set.

But there is no denying who the star was. Whenever his team-mates struggled, an introverted and determined Kobe simply took over and proved his critics wrong. Here was a man who needed no-one to prop him up. Less stylish and more reliant on jump-shooting than ever (a similar pattern to MJ’s), Kobe did what leaders do and stepped up when needed. And, in doing so, he won them a championship.

The only negative aspect of winning is that it makes one think about whether it will continue or not. This could end up being a one-off, but, at least, this blog has had an early taste of success and wants more.

Over to you, Rams.