More from the wives’ basketball diaries
WHEN we talk about the evolution of basketball, we cannot do it without mentioning the LA teams. We are talking specifically about the LA Lakers.
They could be said to be struggling since the departure of talented players like Shaquille O’Neal, Derek Fisher and, most recently, Kobe Bryant. These players have all won a championship at some point in time for the purple and gold team.
While they are the recent heroes of Los Angeles’ glory days in the sport, the history of basketball in the city goes way back to include greats like Jerry West, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Adbul-Jabbar, to mention a few.
To date, the LA Lakers hold the most wins by an NBA team in the history of the game. The one connection that few people make with the Lakers (or the Clippers, if you will) is that they are located in the film capital of the world. So imagine being successful in Hollywood with all the top faces of Tinseltown rallying behind you. With all this said, it makes sense that a show like
Basketball Wives LA would take off in the reality TV spectrum, right? Right. This is why this article is about the fifth season of the successful show. For more than five years, the title has been so successful that it created stars out of basketball players’ spouses. In some cases, those featured are no longer with their NBA star partner and some were never married. It is just a case of fame by association.
If some of those Real Housewives were obscure people who then made us care about their lives, then the folk of Basketball Wives LA have a better platform to stand on.
In the fifth season we have Jackie Christie, the wife of Doug Christie, a retired NBA player. Jackie has been on the show since the first season. Another “lifer” on this show is Malaysia Pargo who is divorced from Oklahoma City’s Jannero Pargo.
The pair were joined by Brandi Maxiell in season three and Shaquille’s ex, Shaunie, in the fourth season. Tami Roman, who has been on Basketball Wives and The Real World, joins these ladies this season. She is the ex-wife of Kenny Anderson. Then there is Angel Brinks, the ex-girlfriend of New Orleans Pelicans player, Tyreke Evans.
In the show we’ll see Brandi contemplating if it is worth going back to LA after fighting with Shaunie. On the other hand, Angel and Malaysia have some disagreements that aren’t yet settled. ● Basketball Wives LA season 5, 6.30pm, Thursdays, Vuzu AMP (DStv channel 103).