Two years ago, the Lakers had the second-best odds of winning the 19th Championship in the history of their storied franchise. Although the addition of former MVP Russell Westbrook was highly criticized because of his lack of ability to shoot from beyond the 3-point mark and run an offense without turning the ball over too often, the consensus viewpoint among sports analysts is that the team's head coach, Frank Vogel, would have orchestrated a way for his skills to mesh with the team's two superstars, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. None of the above ever came to fruition, as Frank Vogel was fired two years after leading the Lakers to their 18th NBA Champisonship. Frank Vogel was slammed by NBA insiders largely for his inability to get Russell Westbrook to buy into his team's concepts and the prospect of taking on a key role off the bench en route to the Laker's failed attempt to qualify for the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
When the Laker's general manager, Rob Pelinka, hired Darvin Ham away from the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff to fill the role left behind by Frank Vogel, NBA analysts indicated that the move would improve the team's defense and offensive sets. They also believed that the former NBA player had the best chance of convincing Russell Westbrook to come off the bench. Thus far, the Lakers have played six games, and they are already off to the worst start in the history of the franchise since moving to Los Angeles.
The 0-4 Lakers visited the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, and they lost. But Russell Westbrook finally agreed to come off the bench. He played well, and he undoubtedly carried the momentum into the Laker's following game against the Denver Nuggets, a game that the Lakers won 121-110. Following the Laker's first win of the season on Sunday, the team celebrated in the locker room with spirited shouts and congratulatory hugs for Darvin Ham as he collected his first-ever victory as a head coach. While the sentiment was nice, most scenarios, such as a "first head coaching wins," are met with a speech or two, a round of applause, and a game ball, before the team sets their sights on their next opponent. This is exactly what happened in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room six years ago when Tyronn Lue earned his first-ever victory as an NBA head coach (video).
So, the idea of a Los Angles Lakers team with three future Hall of Famers on it "celebrating" their first win of the year after getting off to an 0-5 start sent Laker Nation into a frenzy on social media when video footage of the water-soaked celebration surfaced online. With respect to deceased Laker greats such as Kobe Bryant and Jerry Buss, ex-players like Shaq, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar might be rolling over in their graves after seeing current players celebrate a single regular season win during October.
Scroll up to watch the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate in their locker room after defeating the Denver Nuggets 121-110.
Source: Instagram
