2nd KP Draft

Jordan Pumphrey

Topic: Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers winning championships and what it does for the city of LA

Subtopics:

Origin of Lakers and Dodgers
Covid-19
Impact on Los Angeles

The year of 2020 has been one of the worst years in our society for a long time. With the coronavirus being the top issue in our world it could be easy to forget about the positives that are going on such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers both winning their championships this year. This was a huge accolade for both teams and the city of Los Angeles. The last time this happened is in 1988 when the Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Dodgers beating the Oakland A’s. LA still in mourn of the loss of Nipsey Hussle last year and losing Kobe Bryant at the start of this year has shaken up the world, but definitely has provided hope and celebration for LA.

Covid-19 has disrupted spread all over the world. It is a virus that caused a worldwide pandemic of respiratory illness that originated in China in December 2019. According to John Hopkins Medicine article by Lauren Sauer, she states, “As of now, researchers know that the new coronavirus is spread through droplets released into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.” The virus started to pop up in every continent and began to travel everywhere. When Covid-19 came to the U.S. it put a halt to our way of living. The virus has affected events like school, jobs, social life, sports, etc.

The NBA was affected immediately. Rudy Gobert was the first NBA to test positive for the coronavirus and set off a chain reaction for multiple players to have the virus. This resulted in instant shutdown for the league, but it also shut down all sports with other athletes and celebrities coming out saying they have the virus. After suspending the season, the NBA started again on July 22, 2020. It continued at Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida that is referred to “The Bubble.” It was created to protect the players from the virus so that can finish the last 8 games of the regular season and have a chance to play the playoffs. However, only 22 of the 30 of the NBA teams were invited to play. The teams had to stay in the Disney Hotels and the games were held behind closed doors.

Los Angeles Lakers is one of the top dynasties in the NBA and sports history. They have always been the favored team by any sports fan. In the early years of the NBA it has always been the Lakers or the Boston Celtics winning the championship. Both teams have won 17 titles a piece and combines for 34 out of 74 championships of all time. Out of every team in the NBA, the Lakers and Celtics obtain the most Finals meetings with 12. This year they were projected to win it all but had adversity hit them hard regarding Kobe’s death and the pandemic. According to USA Today, Lakers superstar Lebron James stated, “I want to continue along with my teammates to continue his legacy not only for this year but for as long as we can play the game of basketball that we love because that’s what Kobe Bryant would want. So in the words of Kobe Bryant, Mamba out. But in the words of us, not forgotten. Live on brother.” The Lakers finished in the number 1 seed before the season was suspended due to Covid-19.

As the season continued to The Bubble, the Lakers picked up right back where they left off and demolished teams finishing on top in the regular season and that rolled over to the playoffs as they captured the 2020 NBA title. “For me to be a part of such a historical franchise is an unbelievable feeling, not only for myself but for my teammates, for the organization, for the coaches, for the trainers, everybody that’s here,” James said in a CNN Sports article. “We just want our respect.”

As for the MLB, like every other sports Covid-19 has been a huge impact on baseball. The league canceled the rest of spring training and the first 2 weeks of the regular season. They began to start up again, but with the virus rising in the world it has been difficult to remain consistent. The league has decided to regulations that teams must follow to protect and remain playing. In a Los Angeles Times article by Jorge Castillo it stated, “To avoid a stoppage and rendering the terrible optics of the negotiations for naught, the sides agreed on substantial protocols to ensure health and safety.” People who have a positive test do not have access to travel, the facility, or contact with others and they have to test negative 2 consecutive times, go without having a fever for 72 hours, pass a cardiac exam, be cleared by doctors or trainers to return to playing. A player who is positive for the virus will be added to the Covid-19 injured reserve. Even so, a player can be put on the list for just showing symptoms and not even be tested.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were discovered in 1883. They used to be known as many names such as Bridegrooms, Grooms and Robins before they finalized on the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1930s. In Brooklyn and in Los Angeles they won the NL pennant twelve times. As Brooklyn they won the World Series once in 1955 and in LA, they won it 6 times which was recently in 2020. All together they appeared in 20 World series which 9 were in Brooklyn and 11 in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers decided to move to LA in 1957. Before that, according to the Daily News the article stated that the Dodgers and New York City had been negotiating for a new stadium since 1947 and that the city would give new land to build on. In the article it says, “unfortunately, one man disagreed, and that man was Robert Moses, who basically held veto power over any city project budgeted at more than $250.” This made owner Walter O’Malley want to have a change of scenery. He saw land in LA that he believed would be a perfect spot for his ball club. O’Malley accepted an offer to move to LA and the Dodgers have been in there ever since.

With the world having to deal with the pandemic, both LA Lakers and Dodgers winning their championships puts hope and a reason to celebrate into the city of Los Angeles. LA losing 2 of their legends and public figures in Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle, the 2 teams just put LA back on top and inspired the people of LA to overcome adversity over Covid-19.

Quiz Questions:

How can the NBA expect to resume play when there will be an ongoing risk of infection?

What are MLB coronavirus testing protocol?

How was the bubble so successful with handling Covid-19?

References:

Hinckley, D. (2017). The Story behind the Brooklyn Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles.

Retrieved from https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story-behind-brooklyn-dodgers-move-los-angeles-article-1.805022

Castillo, J. (2020). How will MLB operate during COVID-19 pandemic?

Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-06-24/how-will-mlb-operations-manual-here-are-rules-protocols-oddities

Martin, J. (2020). Lakers win record-tying 17th NBA title, giving LeBron James his 4^th

Championship. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/11/sport/nba-finals-game-6-lakers-heat-spt-intl/index.html

Sauer, M. L. (2020). What is Coronavirus. Retrieved from