Amen, brother! The Lakers were a very average team before Memphis gave them Gasol for next to nothing and Kobe was wasting away his prime as a virtual one-man show. Since the trade, they've been to 3 straight NBA finals and won 2 rings. Nobody else gets sweet deals like that. Nobody.
I think on this board specifically, we can reach a consensus that some ignorant Kobe fans are the main reason we dislike the Lakers and everything about them. You know what you get after the Lakers win a game.
I don't necessarily have a strong hate for the Lakers....but the Gasol trade still pisses me off. So does Game 6 2002 against the Kings. No other team in the NBA can get a gift trade like that except the Lakers.
Man, that's my #2 reason right there by Vujavic. I still think he did that on purpose. Not like the dirty Kobe push you down, knee and elbow you in the head move he had. Video proof of both events right here. They happened right next to each other. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PsPATt5_DA
I agree that Kobe is not a nice guy. neither were MJ, Chamberlain, Kareem, Bill Russel, Shaq, Bird, etc.
Phil Jackson the lucky coach who had MJ and Kobe. Fisher the veteran flopps. Kobe the complainer on every non-call. Sasha Flopabitch. Adam Morrison has two rings. Luke Walton thinks he's the sh** because of his dad. The only person I find tolerable is Bynum, and even then I don't like him that much.
How bout the KG to Boston trade? How bout the Caron Butler for garbage Kwame Brown trade? Did any of those piss you off? It pisses you off because you know its for the Lakers
Being in the LA area, its by FAR the legion of Kobe fans influencing any kind of dislike. Shaq and Phil Jackson are varying degrees of arrogant, but they didnt bring out the worst in fans. He's like the NBA Tupac. People want to pattern themselves after the antagonistic guy so they can do that themselves. The tough guys already respect him, but its the worms who try to adopt his same mentality, and going overboard with the overcompensation. MJ fans ruined playing local basketball overall by ball hogging on the court, but still allowed watching games to be fun. Kobe fans ruin the NBA viewing experience in general. The local broadcasters dont help things out either.
'99, '04, and '09 will forever rub me the wrong way. i hate fans who move to LA from other NBA cities and cry, "GO LAKERS" (I know some from Houston and Detroit, specifically. wtf?) i hate the sense of entitlement the myopic fans of the Lakers exude. they just don't seem like they even follow the rest of the NBA. i hate that they get what they want. 4 years after they lose the NBA Finals and break up Shaq & Kobe, they win 2 out of 3 NBA Championships with the help of Gasol and Artest. and the biggest reason that i love to hate the Lakers is representing for all the Rocket fans out there what being true to hometown is all about. i love being in the belly of the beast. and i can't wait until Houston has that Championship once again.
Entitlement is the key word. The whole Lakers organization, from top to bottom, from ownership to coaches to players to commentators to fans, all believe that 1. the league exists FOR the Lakers 2. they can grab any player developed by other teams they want simply because they are the Lakers 3. the other teams are there to be beaten by the Lakers 4. the refs have to make every call in their favor 5. it is their right to be arrogant.
The poll has to be multiple choice kobe is just arrogant, selfish fisher is a flopper and very dirty gasol is a crybaby their fans attitude the bandwagon of the fans, and some of the hollywood celebrities that goes to the lakers games just because is fashionable. getting a lot of calls by the refs the lakers of the 80s were cool.
I hate Kobe, i hate arrogant, fake, spoiled, selfish, whiner Kobe. Kobe and Derek Fisher have proven on numerous occasions to be dirty players. One of the biggest reasons for hating the Lakers, like the Yankees, I hate their bandwagon, fairweather, entitled fans. They have some true fans just like all the other teams, but most of their fans across the country are just punks that hop on the bandwagon. I hate Kobe Like all great teams, there is a large degree of jealousy, but there are a lot of genuine reasons to not like this team. I hate Kobe I actually like Artest, Phil, and Gasol. ... and I hate Kobe, he's just so damn smug if really rubs me the wrong way.
I don't hate the Lakers. Lakers was my 2nd favorite team for over a decade until I started spreading focus around to different teams. I'm not that bothered by fair weather fans. Thats more people to party with when times are good. Its with all things EVEN with ALL teams in the league, if a team has that one bad element to it whether its a despicable player or a dirty playing style, then that team's likability naturally gets lowered. I don't even mind arrogance in a player that much. I think Dwayne Wade is as entitled and cocky as anyone in the league. But its those Kobe FANS that grind my gears. Maybe if I didnt see it up close it wouldnt bother me much, but I have and it factors in. Can't forget past history carrying over. KARL MALONE played for the Lakers. Long time Rockets rival Gary Payton played for the Lakers against the Rockets in the playoffs. The same year Kobe had the rape allegation ... actually THATS when I saw the true nature of Kobe fans. Delusion and hysteria. The Malone/Payton pickups and sky high expectations that year was probably the worst thing to happen to the Lakers likability.
