Gavin

Ok, I have to get something off my chest — Let’s talk about the media and race in sports……. The Lakers have the best record in the league and a BIG part of that is their great locker room chemistry. Who cares which players are white? They should be celebrated now more than ever for having the most diverse roster in the league, and they’re bonded like BROTHERS. Here’s some examples — You won’t find tighter teammates in the NBA than Luka Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt. A white kid from Slovenia that didn’t even move to the US until he was 18 and a black man from Texas. If you watch the Lakers, these two are inseparable. You can usually find them right next to each other on the bench. Last night both together were playfully celebrating and poking at new teammate, Sandro Mamukelashvili, a guy from Georgia (the country, not the state) as he did his postgame interview with the media, after his breakout 23-point performance with the team. You can see that these guys love each other, it’s all over their faces. Then you have Walker Kessler and Colin Sexton, both from Atlanta, who played together in Utah, now reunited in the purple and gold. A white guy and a black guy, from the same area, yet the two personalities couldn’t be more different, but guess what?? They’ve worked together in the summer and it paid off last night, as Colin had his best game as a Laker primarily because of that work and their tight bond. Colin hit Walker with multiple great assists, and Walker’s great screens were opening up Colin to drive to the basket. I could keep going, there’s the friendship of Luka Doncic the Slovenian and Austin Reaves the country kid from Arkansas — or that Luka Doncic reunited with Quentin Grimes after playing together in Dallas. After Luka Doncic was traded from Dallas, Quentin publicly stood up for him in a way that might’ve ultimately been the reason he was also traded from Dallas a few months later. It certainly didn’t help him. My point being, these guys LOVE each other. The Lakers have players who are black and white, they have Americans and players from outside of the US, teammates from rural America and guys from the city. These Lakers love one another. Now I’m no journalist, but there’s so many positive stories that could be written by the media. Instead we get……this? We live in polarizing times, and now more than ever, we need sports to bring us together, NOT divide. Now no team is perfect, and an 82-game season is long, but if this team continues to thrive, this could be one of the best stories in sports. For those who don’t already know, this all began when Luka Doncic invited the new team to Slovenia so everyone could bond/get to know each other. It has been an amazing story ever since. So in closing, I hope that when the Lakers hear these words from Stephen A. Smith (and I’m sure they will hear it) that this only serves to motivate them. This team is not united by skin color, but by a brotherhood that’s far greater than any of these narratives. Anyways, thanks for reading the book. Let’s focus on what brings us together, not what breaks us apart. I love this team……. #LakeShow