Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

Suffering from terminal cancer, Army Sgt. Anthony Zavala dreamed of meeting Kobe Bryant.

Last week, nonprofit organization Hounds and Heroes made it happen.

Visiting with Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, at Nokia Theatre prior to “Kobe Up Close Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel,” Zavala was overcome.

“After being diagnosed, I’ve been so depressed knowing I’m going to die,” Zavala said. “This is the best day of my life.”

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Lakers guard Steve Blake has been named as a vice president on the National Basketball Players Assn. Executive Committee.

Welcome #thenbpa two newest Executive Committee members VP @SteveBlake5 @ATolliver44!!! #nbpa2013

— NBPA (@TheNBPA) August 22, 2013

Meeting in Las Vegas, the union voted Clippers all-star Chris Paul as president, replacing Derek Fisher of the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose term expired.

Free agent Roger Mason was named first vice president. Blake joins Anthony Tolliver of the Charlotte Bobcats as the two new vice presidents.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

The Los Angeles Lakers have one of the richest histories in the NBA with Hall of Famers and championships galore, but even historic franchises can be fashion forward.

The Lakers will wear short-sleeve jerseys next season in “several” games, according to a team source.

The jerseys will be white, the same color as the alternative uniforms the Lakers introduced for the 2002-03 season and traditionally wear on Sundays.

The Golden State Warriors were the first team to wear the adizero short-sleeve jerseys designed by adidas last season.

Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Questions remain on when Kobe Bryant will actually step foot onto a basketball court. But he provided yet another example Monday on how he’s made tangible progress surrounding his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon.

Bryant posted a video on his Instagram account that showed him at the Lakers’ practice facility running on a weight-bearing treadmill. Bryant then added the hashtags, “#mambamental” and “#vinoclock.”

In a sit-down interview with comedian Jimmy Kimmel last week at the Nokia Theatre, Bryant said he’s unsure whether he would suit up in the Lakers’ season opener Oct. 29 against the Clippers at Staples Center.

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News Blog

Kobe Bryant isn’t sure he’ll be ready to play when the Los Angeles Lakers open the season on Oct. 29, although he remains ahead of schedule in rehabbing his surgically repaired Achilles’ tendon.

Bryant turns 35 next week and he vowed that his 17-year career is “definitely not over.”

“I just want that jewelry,” he said, referring to the possibility of claiming his sixth NBA championship.

“People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.”

Bryant made his comments to late night host Jimmy Kimmel during “Kobe Up Close,” a one-on-one conversation with the NBA superstar on Thursday night at Nokia Theatre across from Staples Center.

He had a one-word answer when Kimmel asked whether he would finish his career with the only team he’s ever played for: “Yeah,” Bryant replied.

Reported by the Associated Press

Recently hired as an assistant to Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni, Johnny Davis hopes to help the Lakers become more of a bonded unit.

“The key is that we really and truly and sincerely have to be a team,” said Davis said to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com on Thursday.  “Not just a collective of guys wearing the same color uniform, but truly a team so when you are practicing or doing anything, you don’t want to let your teammate down.”

Davis, who recently served as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors, was added to the Lakers staff in late July.  Davis also has head coaching experience with the Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers.  He also won an NBA title in 1977 as a point guard with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

The Lakers have struggled to improve their current roster because they are limited by the NBA’s new labor contract. As a “luxury-tax team,” the Lakers have fewer tools to sign players than teams with much lighter payrolls.

For example, the move that allowed the Lakers last summer to bring in Steve Nash is gone. Nash, a free agent, was acquired via a “sign-and-trade” with the Phoenix Suns for draft considerations.

But as a tax-paying team, the Lakers are now forbidden to sign-and-trade for players — one of the many rule changes limiting big-budget franchises.

Longer-term, the Lakers’ rebuilding plans will depend in part on how willing they are to pay the NBA’s increasingly punishing taxes on teams carrying big payrolls.

Each year the NBA sets a spending limit that triggers the luxury tax. In eight of the last 10 seasons, the Lakers have willingly crossed that line. The penalty has been a dollar-for-dollar tax, costing the Lakers a cumulative $113.7 million since the 2002-03 season.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times

New Los Angeles Lakers player development coach Mark Madsen speaks with Lakers.com

Mike Trudell: How do you reflect back on your time with Bryant?

Mark Madsen: I’m grateful to have had Kobe as a teammate, because he helped me grow. There were times when he put his arm around me after a tough loss, and other times where he pushed me to be the best I could be. I think he has a nice combination of knowing when to pat somebody on the back, and when to get after somebody. I was a better player because of Kobe. His talent speaks for itself as one of the best to ever play basketball, but I think his leadership is extremely strong. You don’t win the five championships he’s won without being a great leader. He leads vocally and by example. You’re going to find very few players out there as great as Kobe is who also study film, who study opponents, who study other team’s sets. When he’s on the court, he has scripted ways he can take advantage of other team’s sets.

MT: Kobe has taken some criticism for how he was with his teammates particularly early in his career, when you played with him, but what you just said implies you didn’t see it that way?

Madsen: No matter who you are when you’re at the top of your profession like Kobe is and has been, there are going to be people who will put forth their opinions about you. But as a teammate, I’m grateful for Kobe’s influence on my game and how he helped me. He really helped me a lot on and off the court.

MT: A dedicated, hard worker is a teammate he’ll always like. Now, if a player isn’t willing to give it his all…

Madsen: Kobe has a goal to win an NBA championship every year. One thing I like about Kobe is that’s not an individual goal — that’s a team goal towards which he puts forward his best, and expects everyone on the team, coaching staff and in the organization to give their best.

Reported by Mike Trudell of Lakers.com