By Craig Kilborn for The Sporting News
June 23, 2003
Best of all: You had the NBA Finals that didn't involve the Lakers.
When you move to Los Angeles, in the first month you're supposed to do three things:
1) get a new head shot;
2) get breast implants;
3) root for the Lakers.
I've done two of the three. I am not ready to become a Lakers fan.
See, L.A. residents believe it's their God-given right to win the championship. Every year. They perch at the Staples Center, their shades so dark the can barely see the sushi 2 feet in front of them. (And did you know concession guys there don't even sell hot dogs? They just roam through the aisles shouting "Cellular headsets! Get your cellular headsets!")
I swear I'm not a Lakers hater. I'm a basketball purist. There is a difference.
Basketball purists know: The teams of the '80s were better. There was the incomparable Dr. J; there were Magic and Larry. The league was at its strongest before expansion. The Celtics and Lakers of that period were all-time powerhouses-one of those Lakers teams shot 52 percent for the whole year. The Pistons went nine deep (not including William Bedford). And any night of the week, the Sixers could bury you under a barrage of Andrew Toney jumpers. The Bulls teams of the '90s? Overrated. Who was Jordan's competition? Portland? The Jazz? The Suns? Any of the best Eastern Conference teams would've kicked their behinds.
I like Shaq as a person, a dominating center, maybe even as a policeman. He's a funny guy. And as a rapper, he has packed two years of accomplishments into 10 years. Derek Fisher and Rick Fox, both great guys. Robert Horry, until this year, was a clutch shooter. Regardless, this Lakers team was incomplete. The role players rarely stepped up.
More than anything else, the Lakers of recent years benefited from referee bias. I actually found myself on the verge of boycotting the playoffs because of the refs. Kobe drives at the end of the game, wants to get bailed out and gets the call. Shaq initiates contact, he gets the call.
I'm not saying the league arranged for the Lakers to win; I'm just implying it. The Lakers? Dynasty? More like Falcon Crest. David Stern isn't a commissioner, he's a marketer. He knows the Lakers in The Finals mean better ratings and more money. That makes him a Lakers fan, which is not something one should aspire to be.
Give me Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
The rest of the country may not care to tune in, but to a basketball purist, it's a two-handed chest pass for the soul.
