Lakers reach Finals but ‘job is not done’
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Here’s a list of just some of the things the Los Angeles Lakers have gone through in the last 12 months: playing through a politically charged situation in China during the preseason and more massive fallout after returning home, the death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash, a pandemic and four-plus-month suspension of play, the season being moved to a bubble 2,500 miles from their homes, the ongoing battle against racial inequality in this country, and emotions fraying to the point where giving up was considered.
And here they are.
After all that drama, all that angst, all those challenges, the NBA Finals await.
A most unpredictable season has a very predictable finalist. LeBron James, the once-perennial Beast of the East, is now the Best in the West. James and the Lakers are the
Western Conference champions, and his team is set to hit the title series for the first time in 10 years, when Bryant won his fifth and final championship.
“Every time you put on purple and gold, you think about his legacy,” James said. “You think about him
and what he meant to this franchise for 20-plus years. What he stood for, both on the floor and off the floor. What he demanded out of his teammates, what he demanded out of himself. We have some similarities in that sense.”
The Lakers clinched that finals berth Saturday night, ousting Denver 117-107 in Game 5 of the West finals, the game 365 days removed from the team’s first media session to start this season.
Get four more wins, and a season filled with anguish will have the sweetest possible finish.
“This is what I came here for,” said James, who had 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday.
“The job is not done.”