The Lakers Are Relevant Again Now That Kobe Bryant Is Gone

This feels nearly blasphemous to say, but the Los Angeles Lakers were an afterthought last season because of Kobe Bryant. Now that he’s retired, this is a young team that has clawed its way back to relevance with just a little over a dozen games in the books.

Bryant was one of the best to ever do it. No one will ever be Michael Jordan again, but Kobe had his own era. He dominated the NBA, won ring after ring, and he’ll go down as one of the greatest in NBA history. He’s a legend and he earned every bit of it. Few players had his combination of physical skills and a cutthroat attitude.

So this isn’t to knock on Kobe, but the fact remains that he was not the same guy last season. Yes, he exploded in his final game ever, and did you really expect anything less? But he wasn’t the same player who could get wins on his own. He was doing a farewell tour and people were turning out just to see him play — which is great for ticket sales — but he wasn’t bringing home the wins or setting the Lakers up to chase one final title.

If you wanted that, all eyes were on Cleveland and Golden State. That’s where the title talk resided and where it ultimately ended up.

Some have even said that the Lakers only hired head coach Byron Scott because they knew he’d play Kobe as much as Kobe wanted to play. It wouldn’t matter if the team lost or if they should really be focusing on the future. He’d give Kobe the end to his career that he wanted and deserved.

Now, though, the team is changed. Bryant is gone. Scott was fired. The focus is not only on the future, but actively on the present. This team is not worried about getting shots for an aging superstar. It’s worried about winning games.

The young guys, led by D’Angelo Russell, are stepping up. New coach Luke Walton has been called one of the top young coaches in the NBA, with some saying he’s one of the best coaches regardless of age.

Are the Lakers a powerhouse? Certainly not. Even in California, all eyes are still on Golden State. But you don’t rebuild from a player like Kobe overnight. After seeing one of the worst marks in franchise history last season, they’re clearly ternding in the right direction and battling toward playoff relevancy. The NBA is better when the Lakers are good, and that’s finally the path they’re on again.

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Can the Warriors Get 74 Wins?

Last season, the Golden State Warriors made history. They passed the Chicago Bulls, who had won 72 games and set the all-time mark when Michael Jordan was there, winning 73 games in a single season. It was tough down the stretch, but it was clear the Warriors were focused, coming off of an NBA title win the season before.

While setting a mark like that may seem like it’d be the ultimate accomplishment, something they’d never be asked to live up to again, those questions are already swirling as the NBA season gets underway. After all, the Warriors signed Kevin Durant in the off season. The best team ever did the seemingly impossible and got even better.

So, will their record reflect it? If they fall short of 74 wins, does that mean they failed, that they aren’t any better than they were before?

In some ways, that does make sense, but you have to consider the team’s goals. No one is going to touch that 73-wins mark unless they do. They’ll be in the record books forever. The Bulls were there for 20 years before it fell. The Warriors, in all likelihood, will be there for the next 20. That’s true if they win 74 games this season or if they sit back on their 73 that they already have. In terms of legacy, for the players who are not Kevin Durant, there is not much more to be done in that regard.

They also signed Durant not because they wanted 74 wins, but because they wanted to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After winning their 73 games, they blew the series lead and lost in the Finals. Durant himself has never won an NBA title and is incredibly driven to do it. He joined the Warriors so that he could finally get a ring and the Warriors brought him in so they wouldn’t have to feel the pain of a Finals loss again.

Certainly, the Warriors are talented enough that they could go for 74 wins if they decide they want it. Perhaps they want to make a statement and really make people forget how they choked at the end. But it’s more likely that they won’t chase that record and will remain focused on winning rings above all else. Guys like Steph Curry were hurt last season because they were going after wins, and they weren’t as good when it mattered most.

With this level of talent on the floor, there is always the chance that they could begin edging toward the record even without having it as the focus. If it comes into sight and becomes a real possibility, their goals may shift near the end of the season.