Bill Simmons has aggravated Los Angeles Lakers fans while celebrating the Boston Celtics’ 18th NBA Championship win on his podcast with his father as the guest. Simmons said the Lakers cheated their 17 NBA Championships count by claiming the five titles the franchise won while they were the Minneapolis Lakers.
“The Lakers cheat though… They count five Minnesota championships. You know what I heard? I think they’re gonna count the In-Season championship too. So I think the Lakers’ fans think they’re still tied. Cut this out as a social clip: You guys can’t count the Minnesota titles. They don’t count. You stole the team from Minnesota. You don’t get to count the titles.”
Simmons drew on an example from the relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics, who then became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Do you think OKC fans count the 1979 Sonic team as, ‘Ah we got that one title with the Sonics!’ No, they don’t.”
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Simmons isn’t entirely wrong that the city of Los Angeles can’t claim the 17 titles the Lakers have won, but the organization isn’t cheating by including those five titles as part of its history. They were won under the organization that remains in the NBA today, so they deserve to count those titles.
The organization has a claim to those titles, but there should be no debate that those titles won in 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, and 1954 by the Lakers don’t belong to the City of Los Angeles. But the same city has watched eight championships won on their soil since 1986 while the Celtics are celebrating only their second title in 38 years.
The large majority of Lakers fans in Los Angeles have seen their basketball team’s success impact the community far more in the recent past than the Celtics have, but the 2024 title win will reaffirm their status as the most successful NBA franchise in history, even though Lakers fans could throw the same mud Simmons just did by trying to delegitimize the titles the Celtics won in a far less competitive era.
Can The Lakers Win No. 18 With LeBron James?
LeBron James drew the Lakers level with the Celtics’ overall record of 17 titles in 2020 by leading the franchise to a title. While he never got the chance to break the record and give the Lakers the overall championship lead for the first time since 1962, could he be the one to tie it in his 22nd season in the NBA?
The premise is ridiculous, but James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists last season while making an All-NBA team. His individual brilliance might not be at the level we got accustomed to over the 2000s or 2010s, but he’s still among the best players in the NBA. His co-star Anthony Davis is also regarded highly, being named to All-NBA himself while averaging 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks.
The Lakers have multiple picks and movable contracts to overhaul their roster this summer after their second first-round exit in four seasons. Their offseason will be closely monitored, with key free agents, including LeBron, hitting the market as the franchise is still looking for a new head coach.
If they want to win with LeBron, the 2024-25 season might be their final chance at doing so. Asking him to be the leader of a title team for any more seasons just doesn’t seem realistic, nor does the Lakers magically jump over half the West in one offseason.
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