Dodgers will celebrate Lakers legends with T-shirt giveaway this weekend

The Dodgers will pay tribute to multiple Lakers champions this weekend at Chavez Ravine.

This has been a fairly exciting season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It has seen the team debut of two-way star Shohei Ohtani, arguably the best player in baseball, and they have been keeping pace with the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees in the race for Major League Baseball’s best record.

The Dodgers have always shown a strong affinity for the Los Angeles Lakers. This weekend, they will be paying tribute to a number of legends who wore the Purple and Gold.

On Saturday, when they face the Tampa Bay Rays, five members of the Showtime Lakers will be throwing out the first pitch. The Dodgers will also be giving away a T-shirt with depictions of the Showtime Lakers wearing Dodgers jerseys that night.

The following afternoon, they will wrap up their three-game series versus the Rays by giving away a T-shirt honoring late Lakers great Kobe Bryant.

Fans planning on going to either game should be aware that either T-shirt will only be given to the first 40,000 fans in attendance.

Unsung Lakers heroes of the past: A.C. Green

A look back at A.C. Green, who did the dirty work that results in championship rings during his two stints with the Lakers.

In this ongoing series, we will take a trip to yesteryear to highlight some Los Angeles Lakers players whom some fans may have forgotten. These players didn’t get the billing that some others enjoyed, but they were very instrumental to the Lakers’ success.

During the height of the Showtime era of the 1980s, the Lakers were arguably the greatest team in NBA history. But even as they won championship after championship, they were still accused by the East Coast media of being soft. Yet they were coached by the very un-soft Pat Riley, and they had some role players who gave them the macho presentation Riley championed when they needed it.

One of them was power forward A. C. Green.

A.C. Green: Anthony Davis has a little Dirk Nowitzki and Karl Malone in him

Former Laker A.C. Green made an interesting comparison between Anthony Davis and two star power forwards from yesteryear.

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When he’s healthy, Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis is one of the NBA’s very best players. But he is also one of its unique players.

At 6-foot-10, he has the type of guard skills rarely seen in a player his size. But he can also bang down low like a traditional big man. And, of course, he is a beast defensively and on the boards, which Lakers opponents saw firsthand in the 2023 playoffs.

Former Lakers forward A.C. Green was asked by Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson while on “Scoop B Selects” who in his era reminded him of Davis. Green responded by comparing Davis to Dirk Nowitzki and Karl Malone.

“A.D. has a little bit of Dirk Nowitzki in him,” said Green. “He has a little bit of Karl Malone from a power standpoint at times in the paint. He plays big and dominant, but he was one of those big guys that almost was the big trend. Kevin Garnett, who can be powerful but also has that perimeter, he’s got his own little teeth in his own little niche, so you gotta like that.”

Garnett is another former big man who is at least somewhat comparable to Davis because of his all-around game, athleticism and defensive dominance. However, Davis may be a better scorer than Garnett was. Garnett never averaged 25 points a game in a season, something Davis has done five times in 11 years.

The five greatest draft steals in Lakers history

These five players were the greatest draft steals the Lakers ever came away with.

With the 2023 NBA draft now in the rearview mirror, the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping they have come away with a diamond in the rough.

They took Indiana University Jalen Hood-Schifino with the No. 17 pick. Team executive Rob Pelinka described him as a lottery-level talent. They selected forward Maxwell Lewis at No. 40. He fell into their laps after being expected to perhaps go in the first round.

It had fans wondering if Lewis could be the latest draft steal for the Purple and Gold.

The team has certainly had its share of draft steals either in the second round or late in the first round, especially in recent years. These are the five we think top that list.