Fresh off a World Series victory, a number of Dodgers were back in LA and in attendance for Wednesday’s Lakers-Spurs showdown. And boy did the players know it.
While LeBron James was showing love to Roki Sasaki and Luka Dončić and Rui Hachimura were taking pictures pregame, Deandre Ayton was feeling the nerves.
“I ain’t gonna lie,” Ayton said postgame, “seeing the Dodgers, the champions, walk in here, they put a little pressure on me. I was a little nervous actually seeing them in person. I’ve been
watching them through a glass all season.”
Fortunately, the pressure wasn’t too much for Ayton and the Lakers as they came away victorious on the night, which was full of celebration and recognition of the champions.
The Lakers gave away Lakers-Dodgers T-shirts and between the first and second quarters, the Dodgers came to center court and received their flowers from the Lakers fans in attendance.
Crypto erupted, getting louder than they had all night as Blake Snell hoisted the hardware over his head.
That energy carried on throughout the night, which was a good thing for the Lakers, who trailed for a large portion of the contest.
In the fourth quarter, momentum started to go LA’s way as the purple and gold made a push and, during crunch time when Wemby fouled out, Mookie Betts got so into the game that he made the call himself from the stands.
The Lakers held on to beat the Spurs to push their winning streak to five games. How much did the Dodgers help or influence this result? Even if it was very little, it turned out to be positive.
Winning is already a requirement for the Lakers, but a little pressure from other champs can add just a smidge of tension. The Dodgers are also a reminder of what winning looks like in LA and how much Angelinos appreciate it.
Hopefully, new owner Mark Walter will bring some of that success from the Dodgers in recent seasons to the basketball court and the Lakers can be the team making an appearance at Dodger Stadium next summer with their own trophy.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
