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Posts tagged as “LA Lakers”

Players who got drafted in the Second Round of the 2024 NBA Draft

June 29, 2024

The second round of the 2024 NBA Draft has concluded, making the entire 2024 NBA Draft complete. The second round went by rather quietly, with the biggest story being Bronny James being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers. This marks a historic moment, as LeBron James and his eldest son, Bronny James, are now officially teammates.

Aside from Bronny, there were two other noteworthy storylines. First, Kyle Filipowski’s fall to the second round surprised many, as both agents and GMs projected him as a first-round pick. Second, Cam Spencer, drafted by the LA Clippers, joins his brother who was drafted by the LA Lakers two years ago.

Here’s the complete list of the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft;

  1. Raptors draft Jonathan Mogbo (San Francisco)
  2. Jazz draft Kyle Filipowski (Duke)
  3. Bucks draft Tyler Smith (G League Ignite)
  4. Trail Blazers draft Tyler Kolek (Marquette) — Traded to Knicks
  5. Spurs draft Johnny Furphy (Kansas) — Traded to Pacers
  6. Pacers draft Juan Nunez (Ratiopharm Ulm) — Traded to Spurs
  7. Timberwolves draft Bobi Klintman (Cairns) — Reportedly traded to Pistons
  8. Knicks draft Ajay Mitchell (UC Santa Barbara) — Traded to Thunder
  9. Grizzlies draft Jaylen Wells (Washington State)
  10. Trail Blazers draft Oso Ighodaro (Marquette) — Traded to Suns (via Knicks)
  11. 76ers draft Adem Bona (UCLA)

  12. Hornets draft KJ Simpson (Colorado)
  13. Heat draft Nikola Djurisic (KK Mega Basket) — Traded to Hawks (via Heat)
  14. Rockets draft Pelle Larsson (Arizona) — Traded to Heat (via Rockets)
  15. Kings draft Jamal Shead (Houston) — Reportedly traded to Raptors
  16. Clippers draft Cam Christie (Minnesota)
  17. Magic draft Antonio Reeves (Kentucky) — Traded to Pelicans
  18. Spurs draft Harrison Ingram (North Carolina)
  19. Pacers draft Tristen Newton (Connecticut)
  20. Pacers draft Enrique Freeman (Akron)
  21. Knicks draft Melvin Ajinca (Saint-Quentin Basketball) — Traded to Mavericks
  22. Warriors draft Quinten Post (Boston College) — Traded to Thunder, then to Blazers, then to Warriors
  23. Pistons draft Cam Spencer (Connecticut) — Reportedly traded to Grizzlies (via Timberwolves)
  24. Celtics draft Anton Watson (Gonzaga)
  25. Lakers draft Bronny James (USC)

  26. Suns draft Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas) — Traded to Knicks
  27. Grizzlies draft Ulrich Chomche (NBA Academy Africa) — Reportedly traded to Raptors (via Timberwolves)
  28. Mavericks draft Ariel Hukporti (MHP Riesen) — Traded to Knicks
  • Suns and 76ers each lost a 2024 Draft second-round pick due to League penalty.

Source: NBA

Los Angeles Lakers unveil 19-foot bronze statue of Kobe Bryant

February 9, 2024

Just hours before their game agains the Denver Nuggets, the LA Lakers unveil the 19-foot bronze statue of Kobe Bryant, honoring the late superstar outside their downtown arena.

The 4,000-pound statue depicts Bryant wearing his white No. 8 jersey with his right index finger raised as he walked off the court following his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.

Here’s a side-by-side image from FIBA’s official X/twitter account;

Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career with the Lakers in a nutshell;

Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, retired as the first player in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons with a single franchise. Known for his ‘Mamba Mentality,’ he helped guide the Lakers to five NBA Championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) and earned Finals MVP honors in 2009 and 2010. Voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008, Bryant earned All-NBA honors 15 times, including 11 First Team selections, and was named to 12 All-Defensive Teams throughout his career, including nine All-Defensive First Team honors.

The Hall-of-Famer and two-time Olympic gold medalist stands as the purple and gold’s all-time leader in regular season games played (1,346), points (33,643), 3-pointers made (1,827), steals (1,944) and free throws made (8,378), while owning franchise playoff records for games played (220), points (5,640), 3-pointers made (292) and free throws made (1,320). A two-time scoring champion, Bryant scored a career-high and franchise-best 81 points on Jan. 22, 2006, at home versus Toronto. The Lakers retired Bryant’s No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys on Dec. 18, 2017.

Kobe’s will be the 7th Laker immortalize in a statue that’s on display outside the Crypto Arena.

Lakers officially hangs 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Banner

December 19, 2023

The Los Angeles Lakers has officially hang the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament (IST) Championship banner, the new banner will join the 18 NBA Championship banner, that can also be seen hanging from rafters of Crypto.com arena.

You can watch the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Championship Award-Ceremony below;

Lebron James was named the MVP of the IST and each member of the team received cash price of $500,000.

Final 4 of the NBA In-Season Tournament are now Complete

December 6, 2023

We now have the Final 4 teams for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, which will be held in Las Vegas this 7th of December.

Semis

For the West side, it will be between LA Lakers versus New Orleans Pelicans, then for the East Side, we have Indiana Pacers against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Finals

The two winners for games between; LA Lakers versus New Orleans Pelicans, and Indiana Pacers against the Milwaukee Bucks, will once again play for the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship, which the league is calling ‘The NBA Cup’. Games will also be in Las Vegas and will be on Dec. 9th.

Denver Nuggets sweeps the LA Lakers to advance to the 2023 NBA Finals

May 23, 2023

The Denver Nuggets will advance to the 2023 NBA Finals as they sweep the Los Angeles Lakers and overcome a 40-pts game by Lebron James.

The Lakers which lead most of the 1st half and lead as much as 15 points before the Denver Nuggest put the clamp down on the Lakers to limit them to only 19 points in the 3rd qtr while scoring 39 points to take over the game.

Lebron James who played all but 4.3 seconds of the game at the end of the first half. James was flirting with a triple-double 21 points in the first quarter, finishing with 40 points, 10 rebs and 9 assists. Lebron James had the change to put the game to OT but was stopped by Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray as he drive to the basket in the closing seconds of the game.

Anthony Davis also sensational with his 21 points, 14 rebs, 1 steal and 3 blocks but did not get any help from the rest of the team aside from the 17 points from Austin Reaves.

Lebron James had nothing but praises to the Nuggets.

“Me and AD were just talking in the locker room (and) we came to the consensus this is one of the best teams, if not the best team, we’ve played together for all four years…Just well-orchestrated, well put together. They have scoring. They have shooting. They have playmaking. They have smarts. They have length. They have depth. And one thing about their team, when you have a guy like Jokic, who as big as he is but also as cerebral as he is, you can’t really make many mistakes versus a guy like that.”

Here is Lebron James full postgame interview.

Nikola Jokic lead the Nuggets with his eighth triple-double of the playoffs; Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, include the 3 blocks and 1 steal he made on the defensive end. Jamal Murray scored 25 points and 5 assists, helping Jokic overcome James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit.

This will be Denver Nuggets’ first trip to the NBA finals and first time sweeping a playoff series. Unless Boston Celtics made a miracolous run to win the next 4 games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Denver will host Miami Heat to open the NBA Finals, starting June 1.

Denver Nuggets takes 3-0 lead over the LA Lakers in the WCF

May 21, 2023

Denver Nuggets are 1-win away for their first NBA Finals appearance after defeating the LA Laker in the game 3 of the Western Conference finals. This is the first home lost of the Lakers in the post-season. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history but Lebron James remain optimistic in his postgame interview.

For second straight games, Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 37 points, 7 rebs and 6 assists, followed Nikola Jokic scoring 24 points with 8 assists but was plague by foul trouble in the game. the Nuggets due received a lot of help from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who finished with 17 points, scoring 12 points in the second half, while Michael Porter Jr. chipped-in 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high of 6 assists.

Anthony Davis scored 28 points and 18 rebounds for the Lakers but was -12 in the plus/minus column, while James made 23 points with 12 assists and Austin Reaves added 23 points and 7 rebounds but they could not counter Nuggets balanced offence in the clutch. Five Nuggets players are in double figures which includes Bruce Brown’s 15 pts with 5 rebounds and 5 assists; Michael Porter Jr. with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Game 4 will still be in LA which is a must for Lakers so they can extend the series to Game 5.

Denver Nuggets defeats LA Lakers to take 2 – 0 lead in the Western Conference Finals

May 19, 2023

Denver Nuggets just took a 2 – 0 lead over the Lakers after defeating the LA Lakers in game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Nuggets got the win behind Jamal Murray’s explosion by scoring 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter. Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic was not as impactful in game 2 as he is in the opener even though he just registered another triple-double, scoring 23 points with 17 rebounds and dished 12 assists, his 7th triple-double in the post season and 4th straight.

The Lakers are not panicking even though they’re down 0 – 2, and James even said this in his postgame interview – “This is not the NCAA Tournament. It’s the first team to four wins.”

In the game, Lebron James was flirting with triple-double, scoring 22 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, he was also 0 – 6 from beyond in the three-point line in the game and just 1 – 19 in the fourth quarter this postseason. Collectively, James and Reaves both scored 22 for Los Angeles, while Anthony Davis scored just 18 points after scoring 40 pts in game 1.

Game 3 of the WCF will be this Saturday at the crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers are still undefeated this post season.

Lakers takes series lead 3 – 1, behind 4th Qtr Career Game from Lonnie Walker IV

May 9, 2023

The Los Angeles Lakers are in full control of the series putting the Golden State Warriors on the brink of elimination and spoiling Curry’s triple-double, this is his third career in the postseason.

It was a close game even in the closing minutes and despite a monster game from Anthony Davis and Lebron James, the LA Lakers needed a career 4th qtr game from Lonnie Walker IV, who took control of the 4th qtr. The Warriors did not have any answer to Walker’s drives and jumpers, he even made a 3-pts at one point in the 4th. Walker scored all his 15 points in the 4th quarter, he also made grabbed 3 rebs and dished 2 assists.

Anthony Davis contributed scored 23 pts, 15 rebs and 3 steals. Lebron chipped in 27 points, 9 rebs and 6 assists but was -8 in the plus/minus column. James did made 2 crucial free throws that gave the Lakers a 3 point lead with just 1 mins 19 seconds remaining in the game.

On the Golden State side, it was just Curry against the whole Lakers roster, after scoring 31 pts, 10 rebs and 14 assists, and the second leading scorer for the Warriors is Andrew Wiggins who scored 17 points but was limited to just 4 rebs and 2 for 6 from beyond the arc. Klay Thompson, the hero of game 2, is also a non-factor in the game and only scored 9 points with 5 rebs even though he played for the 41 minutes.

With this win the Lakers will just need to win 1 game in order to advance to the Conference Finals while the Warriors needs to defeat the Lakers 3 games in a row and the series in game 7.

Game 5 will be this Wednesday night at the Chase Center, San Francisco.

Complete picture of the 2nd Round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs

May 1, 2023

Now that the Warriors will advance to the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs we now have a complete pictures of the 2nd Round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. A number of games have already been played and here’s a roundup as of this date.

Western Conference

  • Los Angeles Lakers will face the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers dispatched the Grizzlies in 6 games and have been waiting for winner of the the Warriors-Kings series.
  • Denver Nuggets versus the Phoenix Suns. Nuggets already won game 1 in a convincing win against the Suns. It was Jamal Murray who carried the load for the Nuggets scoring 34 pts and 9 assists. MVP candidate Nikola Jovic contributed 24 points, 19 rebs and 5 assists.

    Game 2 will on Monday, at the Ball Arena, in Denver.

Eastern Conference

  • Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers. Game 1 will this Tuesday at the TD Garden. Joel Embiid is doubtful for game 1 against the Celtics 76ers.
  • Miami Heat versus New York Knicks. Miami Heat already took game 1 even though Jimmy Butler is nursing an ankle injury. Jimmy Butler lead the Heat with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

    Game 2 will be this Tuesday, at the Madison Square Garden, New York.

Golden State Warriors wins epic Game 7 against Sacramento Kings (120 – 100)

May 1, 2023

It was a game for the record books, as Golden State Warriors routs the Sacramento Kings in the Game 7 of the 1st round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

It was a close game early in the 3rd quarter until Steph Curry single-handedly carry the Warriors’ offensive load. Curry score a team-high of 50 points on a 52.6% shooting, this is the most scored in a Game 7 in NBA history. Steph is the first player in Warriors history to score 40-plus points in a Game 7. Curry also dished-out 6 assists and 8 rebounds.

Aside from Curry, Kevon Looney continued to be a force on boards as he grabbed a total 21 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end, with his 11 points and 4 assists. Looney’s rebounding helped the Warriors control the pace of the game.

Steph and the Warriors will now face the Lebron and Lakers in the 2nd round, Lakers dispatched the Grizzlies in just 6 games. Game 1 of the 2nd round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs will this Tuesday at San Francisco’s Chase Center.

Game Highlights

Lakers routs Grizzlies, advances to the 2nd round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs (125 – 85)

April 30, 2023

The Los Angeles Lakers will advance to the 2nd round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs after dismantling a resilient Memphis Grizzlies. It was a block party for the Lakers with a team total of 15 blocks against Grizzlies’ 2 blocks.

Lakers leading scorer for the game is D’Angelo Russell scored a career playoff-high 31 points with five 3-pts made. LeBron James made 22 points and 6 assists, while Anthony Davis chipped in 16 points, 14 rebs with 5 blocks.

As for the Grizzlies, their top scorer for the game is the seldom used Santi Aldama scoring 16 points with two 3-points made. Ja Morant and Desmond Bane scored a combined 25 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 14 on a 25% shooting.

Lakers will face in the 2nd round of the 2023 NBA Playoff the winner of the Game 7 between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.


Lakers beats Timberwolves (102 – 108) in OT to take West 7th Seed

April 12, 2023

Lakers survives Timberwolves in a thrilling Play-in tournament that went overtime. The win will give the Lakers the 7th seed in the Western conference. To keep their hopes alive to be the NBA Champions, LA Lakers will face the Memphis Grizzlies, who are the 2nd seed in the West in the 1st round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Min. Timberwolves are without Rudy Gobert who was suspended for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during Minnesota’s regular-season finale against the NO Pelicans, while Jaden McDaniels is out indefinitely with a broken hand after punching a wall during the same gamae against the Pelicans.

On the Lakers win at NBA.Com – LAKERS OUTLAST WOLVES 108-102 IN OT, ADVANCE TO FACE MEMPHIS.

Lakers routs Nets – 126-101

April 12, 2021

In a game that was considered as an NBA Finals preview, the Los Angeles Lakers, even without Lebron James and Anthony Davis, showed the Nets that they’re still the league’s defending champs by outscoring the Nets in the 1st, 3rd and 4th qtr by an average of 10 pts.

Laker’s buyout acquisition Andre Drummond contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Dennis Schroder chipped-in 19 points before being ejected with Kyrie Irving in the third quarter.

The Los Angeles Lakers lead most of the games and was never really threaten by the Nets, even though getting 22 pts from Kevin Durant and 18 pts from Irving. The Nets are without their leading scorer James Harden who is recovering from a hamstring injury.

Aside from Lebron and Davis, LA Lakers are also playing without Kyle Kuzma (left calf strain), Marc Gasol (left hamstring tightness) and Wesley Matthews (right Achilles tendon tightness).

The Lakers will visit New York Knicks while the Nets will go Minnesota on Monday.

Here’s the game highlights;

Miami Heat wins a hard-fought Game 5, forces a Game 6

October 10, 2020

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat forces a game 6 by winning a very close game against the LA Lakers (111 – 108).

Jimmy Butler, who played all 47mins of the game is best player of the night, filling up the stat sheet with another triple-double, with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, He out-duel Lebron James in what can be considered a classic game between future Hall of Famers.

Butler had a lot of help from the other Miami Heat players; Duncan Robinson contributing 26 points, Kendrick Nunn chipping in 14 points, Bam Adebayo had 13 points, Tyler Herro had 12 and Jae Crowder 11. The seventh player, Andre Iguodala, didn’t score but was a big defensive contributor in the game.

The LA Laker got another big game from James with 40 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists but without Anthony Davis, who is already playing through a bruised heel and was limping down the stretch.

Game 6 will be Sunday night (4:00 AM, Monday, Riyadh time).

LA Lakers defeats Miami Heat in Game 4 (102-96), one win away for the 2020 NBA title

October 7, 2020

The LA Lakers are one win away to bring the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy back to Los Angeles and the franchise’s 17th championship.

Game 4 was a tight game until Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a corner three then a block by Anthony Davis on a Jimmy Butler drive. Davis later sealed the game with a 3-pointer with 39.5 seconds left in the game.

Lakers take a commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals, the only team to come back from a 1-3 deficit in NBA Finals history, are the 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Lebron James, who is in a Laker uniform.