Okay, look: it’s been rough for Los Angeles Lakers fans in the past six seasons, as the usually-competitive franchise didn’t get above .500. There were some extremely low points, from the D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young saga to the “I’m not gonna be here” Magic Johnson era.
But this is a franchise just 10 years removed from its last championship, not its last playoff appearance. They have 16 titles to their name, and a ton of Hall of Fame talents who have donned the purple and gold in Hollywood.
That brings us to Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma tweeting this after the Lakers clinched the No. 1 seed in the West on Tuesday night:
Real laker fans remember the losing seasons. Here ya go #1 😤🔒
— kuz (@kylekuzma) August 4, 2020
C’mon.
Yes, Lakers fans did suffer through the last handful of years. But hopefully real fans remember that they’re lucky to root for a franchise that has won so much and can step back to remind themselves that they’re lucky they haven’t gone decades without a title, or even years without a great team like a certain franchise on the opposite coast.
I get that there’s a generation of Lakers fans who have grown up with the franchise losing a lot, and that Kuzma’s on a winning team for the first time in his NBA career. But that tweet feels short-sighted. Here are a couple of others who get what I’m saying:
Lakers fans thinking they're a long suffering fan base. pic.twitter.com/ZAYaLwqVAA
— Horatio Velveteen (@TheMadSt0rk) August 4, 2020
Lakers fans have never felt actual pain man, the wait between Kobe and Brons elite teams is so Insignificant compared to other team’s long term sorrows, Lakeshow fans do not have it that tough
— Tyler Turner (@turnzie) August 4, 2020
[jwplayer MpGGUyps-q2aasYxh]