Lakers, LeBron will be stronger in return
No teams, players or executives are prepared for what happened to Kobe Bryant.
You don’t plan for that kind of unthinkable tragedy for an NBA great and franchise icon who is linked intimately with the Lakers and their fan base.
But if there’s a franchise that can navigate the death of Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday, the Lakers are one of them.
It won’t be easy. At all.
Controlling owner Jeanie Buss just made her first public remarks on Instagram Thursday. General manager Rob Pelinka followed a few hours later with his first comments in a statement. The only Laker who has been available to the media is coach Frank Vogel.
This is devastating for Buss and her family; Pelinka, who was Bryant’s agent and close friend; and the rest of the organization, some of whom worked with Bryant for his two decades with the team.
The Lakers are among the last of the mom-and-pop, family-owned teams, and that close-knit nature might be the very reason they can navigate an unfathomable tragedy.
It’s crushing for the franchise and for the players, including LeBron James, who all grew up watching and idolizing Bryant. His only public comment so far is an Instagram post.
It helps to have a player like James, who wrote, in part: “Man I love you big bro. My heart goes to Vanessa and the kids. I promise you I’ll continue your legacy man! You mean so much to us all here especially #LakerNation and it’s my responsibility to put this (expletive) on my back and keep it going!! Please give me the strength from the heavens above and watch over me! I got US here!”
The Lakers still have a championship to pursue. They are 36-10, in first place in the Western Conference and a favor
ite to reach the NBA Finals.
Playing games for that franchise in Staples Center won’t be easy for the remainder of the season. Reminders are everywhere.
This isn’t to say the Lakers need to dedicate the season to Bryant or win the title for Bryant – though I’m sure that will come up in conversation – but they can honor Bryant by playing with his ruthless desire to win.
“We want to represent what he stood for,” Vogel said Wednesday. “That’s the most important thing for us. We want to represent what he stood for.”
It helps that the Lakers have a great locker room. Even before Bryant’s death, Vogel talked last week about how enjoyable it was to coach this group.
“The players that we have in the locker room are really fun to be around,” he said. “They really enjoy each other. The atmosphere is just something you can just tell that everybody just likes coming to work.
“There is never a struggle about practice, film sessions, extra meetings. It’s just a good vibe with our team, and it’s been that way since Day 1 when I started with the Lakers. Winning obviously helps that, but it was present before we started winning games and hopefully it continues.”
James confirmed that last week, too. “Our chemistry on the court is always great, because of how much we get along off the court,” he said.
Vogel said this tragedy won’t fracture the locker room. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.
“It’s just strengthened what we’ve felt all year about our current group which is we’ve become a family in a very short time,” Vogel said. “And it’s something you talk about in the NBA with your teams, but this group in particular has really grown to love each other very rapidly and we understand the importance and the opportunity that we have this year, and this has just brought us closer together.”
After the NBA postponed the Lakers Clippers game Tuesday, the Lakers will return to the court Friday night against the Trail Blazers at Staples Center.
Healing is a long process. The Lakers lost something they will never get back.
Getting back on the court, where players are so adept at compartmentalizing and focusing, will be good for the Lakers. A sliver of normalcy in dark times is a salve that can help us find the light.