"I remember I went to the parade when I was young, seeing Kobe and Shaq on the bus" - Former NBA champion reminisces watching LA Lakers winning parade as a youngster
Throughout NBA history, the LA Lakers have been one of the league's most successful franchises. The list of Hall of Fame talents to don purple and gold is endless. Because of this, the ceiling of Crypto.com Arena, formerly Staples Center, is filled with championship banners.
As a native of California, former player Nick Young grew up rooting for the Lakers. He was even fortunate enough to play for the team from 2013-2017. However, his fondest memories come from one of the franchise's greatest duos.
Led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers were borderline unstoppable in the early 2000s. Together, the star duo managed to pull off the rare feat of winning three-straight championships.
That Kobe-Shaq connection #BestOfLakersSixers https://t.co/Q52xLigswz
Young was recently a guest on Iman Shumpert's "Iman Amongst Men" podcast. It was there that he dove into his memories of rooting for the Shaq- and Kobe-led LA Lakers as a young kid:
"Oh it was a dream come true for me. I remember I went to the parade when I was young, seeing Kobe and Shaq on the bus, I had the Kobe Fro jersey. It was tough, it was tough. It was cool though, it was cool though."
Can the LA Lakers get back into a position to contend in 2023?
When the LA Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in 2019, they hoped to create a duo similar to that of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Despite LeBron James being on the back end of his prime, pairing him with a young Davis created one of the most-feared duos.
2 years ago today, @KingJames & @AntDavis23 led the Lakers to a Game 2 victory over the Rockets
LeBron
28 PTS | 11 REB | 9 AST | 4 STL | 2 BLK | 65%TS
AD
34 PTS | 10 REB | 4 AST | 1 BLK | 64%TS
Peep AD’s midrange takeover. Just surgical. https://t.co/Sq0c6HdH0t
While the pair of All-Stars led LA to the title in 2020, it has been downhill for the franchise ever since. The Lakers' biggest Achilles heel has been Davis' constant inavailability. Over the past two seasons, he has only appeared in 76 regular-season games.
Since James only has so much left in the tank, the Lakers are looking to capitalize while he is still a high-impact player. If they want to become a threat in the Western Conference again, Davis needs to be a nightly fixture in the lineup.
While healthy, Davis is still one of the most impactful two-way players. In the 40 games he played last season, Davis averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks.
Compared to the other teams in the league, the LA Lakers have an extremely lackluster supporting cast. If they want to become contenders again, it will have to be on the backs of their star players.