Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers: The Road to a Three-Peat

By now everyone has heard the story of the new Los Angeles Lakers. It all started with a disgruntled Kobe Bryant wanting a trade. It then continued with an injury to key big man Andrew Bynum. Things started looking up when the Lakers made a trade and sent the basically worthless Kwame Brown, who looked like he had no passion or determination to even grab a couple of rebounds while he played, and a bunch of other players to Memphis for Pau Gasol. That’s where the real story began.

After the Lakers acquired the 7'0" Spaniard, they went on a winning tear. They roared to the best record in the Western Conference, passing former powerhouse New Orleans who were led by the MVP-caliber point guard Chris Paul. They continued the excellence through the postseason. They made it to the NBA Finals but fell short to the soon to be champions, the Boston Celtics led by the “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and young developing Rajon Rondo.

The team improved in the offseason without making any huge signings or trades. The Lakers were favored to win the championship with center Andrew Bynum back in the line-up. Although he became injured once again, the Lakers were reluctant to give up and roared to an NBA World Championship, beating out the Eastern Conference Champions, the Orlando Magic. In the offseason, they signed former Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest. This took pressure off of Kobe Bryant on the defensive end. Kobe played through the season with a broken index finger and led the Lakers to a second straight championship, this time beating out the rival Boston Celtics, who found new life in the ever-improving Rajon Rondo.

This brings us to this season. The Lakers are looking to raise their 17th banner and help Coach Phil Jackson continue beating his record by further pushing his ring count to 12.  The Lakers added depth and defense to their bench by signing defens...

About the Author