Back in L.A

It is wild to believe that it was just earlier this year in January that NBA icon Kobe Bryant was killed alongside his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. This week, his team paid an incredible tribute to him, taking out the NBA title on Sunday against Miami Heat 106-93. It was the first time they had won the title in a decade, with Lakers Coach Frank Vogel noting that Bryant “had guided this team the whole year”. Later on, Kobe’s late wife Vanessa sadly took to Instagram to wish that that the pair were still here to see the victory.

Kobe had won five titles with the Los Angeles Lakers after a 20 year career, and steered his teammates to a 17th title in 2020. His close friend LeBron James won MVP for the finals series, acknowledging that “I want to continue along with my teammates, to continue his legacy”.

However, the win was overshadowed by riots outside the Staples Center where fans began hurling beer bottles and various “projectiles” at uniformed police officers. At least 76 people were arrested after looting in local stores and widespread vandalism took place. This was against L.A Mayor Eric Garcetti’s pleads to not gather to celebrate due to the pandemic, declaring “let's honor our city's triumph by protecting others and making sure we don't spread the virus”, which had fallen on deaf ears. Police had fired less-lethal projectiles to disperse the crowd after a dispersal order was made, however crowds retaliated with fireworks and bottles.

It almost overshadowed the win, with crowds chanting “Kobe” despite a vandalised bus being set alight and minor injuries sustained by officers. It echoed similar scenes demonstrated throughout the year, among the string of riots stemming from police brutality and the death of George Floyd.

Earlier in the year, the NBA players moved to boycott the season in response to the police shooting of African American Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, following the months of rioting for the BLM movement across the world. Multiple games were postponed due to the boycott, after Blake was shot seven times and left paralysed, causing outrage among players following months of the BLM marches. Led by Michael Jordan, players met with NBA officials to call for the same accountability amongst law enforcement authorities for injustices against African Americans to be enforced as it is in the sporting industry.

The players demanded change to the judicial system, with LeBron James tweeting “f*** this man! We demand change. Sick of it!” following the shootings. Later, President Trump responded that “they’ve become like a political organisation and that’s not a good thing”, referring to the NBA and the needs of the players. The season resumed on August 27 after just a few days of the boycott after a string of political messages were publicised in the weeks leading up, including James wearing a hat that read “Make America Arrest the Cops who Killed Breonna Taylor”, and players donning “Black Lives Matter” shirts on the sidelines. This was in addition to messages relating to racial injustice and equality replacing the names of players on their jerseys earlier in July.

The win by the Los Angeles Lakers was therefore an incredible achievement led by LeBron James after a season plagued by disruptions, including the season was also earlier suspended in June due to the outbreak of the pandemic. Mystery had surrounded whether the season would even resume, also seen across sporting organisations globally during a year that requires little explanation.

It was former President Barack Obama who was able to influence the players return to the court, encouraging them to use it as an opportunity to create change. From there, NBA team owners moved to promise the use of their sporting arenas as a tactic to promote voting the importance of voting during the 2020 election. The League has endeavoured to therefore work with the players to exercise their right to vote and influence change across social and racial injustice, and to advocate for police reform.

So it can be said that the end to the championship drought has reignited the Lakers franchise after a dark year. LeBron acknowledged that “thinking I have something to prove fuels me”, and highlighted “our organisation wants respect, Lakers nation wants its respect”. The win has brought some comfort as we sail towards the end of 2020, as Lakes President Jeanie Buss summed up the victory as “to Lakers nation, we have been through a heartbreaking tragedy with the loss of our beloved Kobe Bryant and Gianna. Let this trophy serve as a reminder of when we come together, believe in each other, incredible things can happen”.