A Championship Earned. 2009 L.A. Lakers

          Me and my brother always brag that we were witnesses to the tale end of the NBA’s glory years. The days when players would drive to the basket and get knocked on their ass without a player being suspended. Or the days when a single team would play together for years and years before they won a championship, instead of buying allstars and winning it in their 1st year. These are some of the ills that have plagued the NBA since Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago bulls back in 1999. For the exception of the Detroit Pistons who won it back in 2004, I really didn’t feel the special feeling watching a basketball team win it all. The Spurs were good and did deserve it, but they lacked any excitement necessary to keep people talking about them. They had peppered wins in 1999, 2003, 2005 & 2007 The heat shipped Shaq over from L.A. to win it in 2006, and thats cheating, while the Celtics paid for theirs in 2008 buy adding 2 mega all stars, Keven Garnett and Ray Allen to an already established mega allstar in Paul Pierce. And how about that fake ass celebration Paul Pierce performed when they won it? You can tell that even he knew it wasn’t satisfying to win it the way he did. The 3 peat Laker’s had Shaq who by the way was shipped from Orlando to win it in 2000, 2001 & 2002. Its been an ugly decade for the NBA. Many rule changes have resulted in very pussy playing, lots of whining and fake hearts.
          I must admit that when Kobe Bryant entered the league, I was an automatic hater. This was all because I was very protective of Michael Jordan, and I didn’t appreciate some of these young players who hadn’t accomplished anything but were already being compared to MJ. Kobe was Number 1. I feel that a player must earn everything he gets. Early Kobe had already earned comparisons to MJ and hadn’t even won his 1st ball game. Kobe was a victim to a desperate mother who had lost their child and desperately tried to replace him. He was caught up in the propaganda of it all, and was brainwashed by it. Kobe needed to find himself and that meant winning without Shaq.
          The journey to bring the NBA back to the days of the 80′s and 90′s when top players like, Reggie Miller, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon etc. would stick around almost their whole career just for a chance to win it, began.
          Shaq left the Laker’s after the 2004 NBA finals lost to the Detroit Pistons. Surprisingly enough Phil Jackson did not abandon the laker’s. Without Shaq it would be a touch 3 years, where they didn’t make the playoffs 1 year and didn’t make it out the 1st round in 2 years.
          I learned to respect Kobe in his 4th year of separation. This is when he grew up. He took the Laker’s to the finals where they lost in 6 to the Boston Celtics. Understand how tough it is to be so close and have to wait another 355 days for that chance again. That is what defines a champion. Not a team who loses and immediately goes off to make trades and buy players. A team who sticks with it, who believes in each other. All this cliché shit is true for Kobe and his Laker’s. This man is a real champion and finally today, June 14th 2009, he deserves to be compared to Michael Jordan.
          Today the 2009 L.A. Lakers made The NBA great again. Thank you. 
                                   
Talent with no will is just endorsment deals. But with it, its the stuff of legends.         -Claudio Abreu