Top 5 Los Angeles Lakers Moments of 2012
The 2012 Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have a $100 million payroll -- the highest in the NBA. Allotting Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard to play together on one team. Taking the idea of a “big three” and one-upping it with a “big four.” “On paper” it looked good.
They secured Nash through trading future draft picks and using their trade exception to acquire even him, though he had a variety of other appealing options. The New York Knicks are probably looking pretty nice right about now for All Star point guard.
General Manager, Mitch Kupchak, tired of letting all the other teams think they were going to land Howard, and as he told Backstage Lakers, he picked up the phone and simply made the deal happen.
Bryant is playing so well Donald Trump might soon request a copy of his birth certificate to make sure he really is 34-years old.
However, being good in theory hasn’t yet translated to the court.
On the court, the Lakers have struggled. They’re beginning to “get it together” now. The defense, while still not the superb defense that Howard is known for, is more than acceptable. Any team with Bryant on it will be an offense first team. The Lakers put up big points but fail to prevent bigger points from being scored on them.
Despite all the issues, there were still some very big moments in 2012. Here are the biggest things to happen in Lakers Land during the past year.
5. Andrew Bynum voted on as an All-Star starter for the 1st time.
During the start of 2012, long before Andrew Bynum was known for his hair, he played for the Lakers. And, he was voted onto the All Star team for the first time.
4. Kobe Bryant Scores 30,000 Thousand Points
On December 5, 2012, Kobe Bryant became the fifth and youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points.
3. Coaching: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly
The bad: Mike Brown. As soon as Brown was fired it became clear he wasn’t the problem. He’s a good coach who, hopefully, Deron Williams just made room for.
The good: The whole 55 minutes that everyone thought Phil Jackson was going to take the Lakers head coaching job and lead a glorious comeback straight out of a TV movie.
The ugly: almost every rotation and defense system the Lakers have tired.
2. Steve Nash Trade
Steve Nash is traded to the Lakers. It was the first sign that the 2012-2013 season would be a great one.
Nash decided on the Lakers because he wanted a championship ring before his retirement.
Nash wanted to ring chase with the biggest ring chasers in the league: The Lakers and company.
The Dwight Howard Trade Ends Here
Dwight Howard’s trade drama, the story that continued all summer long, was ended quickly by the Lakers. LA isn’t Brooklyn but the Lakers were due to snatch an All Star center from Orlando
The Top 20 NBA players of all time
Who is the single most important player on every NBA team?
