Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports
To the disappointment of the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans, the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals to win their 18th NBA championship. Not only was it the Celtics' first championship in 16 years, but they also finished with a better NBA championship record than the Lakers, 18-17.
Of course, this has sparked a debate between Lakers and Celtics fans about which is the top franchise in the NBA, with Celtics fans believing their team's number of championships earns them that status, but many, including ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, disagree.
The topic was discussed on Tuesday's episode of “First Take,” with Smith declaring that the Lakers are still the NBA's top franchise and explaining why he thinks so.
.@StephenaSmith I believe the Lakers are the best franchise in the NBA.
“[The Lakers’] Time spent on relevance [the Celtics]” pic.twitter.com/rfzpRyvr5d
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 18, 2024
Smith's argument is valid and based on fact: Although the Celtics have won more championships, the Lakers have appeared in far more NBA Finals and are the more important team in NBA history.
Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1977, the Lakers have won 11 NBA championships while the Celtics have only won five, three of which came in five seasons in the 1980s led by Larry Bird, the Lakers won five in the same period led by Magic Johnson and the Showtime era, five more in the 2000s led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and most recently in 2020 led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Other than a few years between Kobe's retirement and signing LeBron, the Lakers have always been relevant in the NBA and have been consistent contenders to win championships, and Smith believes that's enough to earn them a place at the top of the all-time franchise list, and it's hard to argue with that.
Are Lakers' D'Angelo Russell's free agent options dwindling?
The Lakers need to make moves to get back into championship contention, and one of the players facing big decisions this summer is point guard D'Angelo Russell, who is expected to decline his $18.6 million player option, but his free agent options may not be as extensive as he hopes.
Recent reports suggest that the Orlando Magic, seen by many as Russell's most likely destination if he were to leave in free agency, are not willing to pay what Russell is due to receive under his player option, and while Russell is of interest to Orlando, it's not likely he's willing to pay a lot of money.
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