The “Basketball Gods” are Real
With a surprising twist, or maybe not so surprising, the Los Angeles Lakers have been blessed for the third year in a row with the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft.
In my years of watching the National Basketball Association, I am a strong believer in the “Basketball Gods” and how they can help or hurt certain teams.
At the end of this regular season the Lakers went on a five game win streak which consisted of a beautiful game winner by D’Angelo Russell on the eve of his grandmother’s death. The reason I bring that up is that the Lakers play with heart but are just not good. They do not try to lose games, they compete and play as hard as they can. That is the right way to do things, you respect the game and it respects you back.
The Phoenix Suns went into full tank mode which really worried Lakers fans because the odds of keeping the top three pick were no longer in our favor. The Suns deliberately threw games in order to increase their odds. On Tuesday Night we saw the “Basketball Gods” in action when the Lakers were awarded the 2nd overall pick that belonged to Phoenix statistically, and Phoenix had moved down to the 4th overall pick.
Many teams are guilty of deliberately tanking their seasons to obtain a lottery pick, (see Philadelphia 76’ers). No team should ever deliberately tank to obtain a lottery pick because it is unfair to the fan’s, players, and to the game of basketball. Basketball should be competitive in every sense. Yes, the NBA is a business and the ultimate goal is to win a championship but there are other ways to cross the finish line.
Many people will point their fingers to conspiracies or mention that the Lottery is rigged because of Patrick Ewing but maybe it is the “Basketball Gods” recognizing the right thing to do. The Lakers played hard and went down swinging. That is somewhat respectable in my book and as a fan I was happy to win those last few games and it feels even better now that we secured the second pick.
Life is not always about cutting corners but more of fighting through the struggle until it all works out. It has been an interesting ride the last four years where it seemed like the “Basketball Gods” had turned a page on us. The sliver of light is now noticeable and will continue to shine throughout the next few years.
The “Basketball Gods” have always been here and will continue to be here watching over us.
