The Nokia Theatre crowd was filled with former Lakers players and coaches, and many of them took to the stage to express how much Dr. Buss meant to them personally.
One of those who shared his thoughts was current Lakers captain Kobe Bryant, who used the platform to both speak from his heart and to relay a message to the rest of his teammates, most notably Dwight Howard.
"I encourage all of you, me included, to just look around the room and look at the greatness of one man's vision," said Bryant to a crowd of approximately 4,000 people. "We all have one thing in common, that we all believed in Dr. Jerry Buss."
Buss was a shrewd businessman who turned a $1,000 investment into a team that is now worth more than a billion dollars.
And when it came to his beloved Lakers, Buss was committed to doing whatever it took to win each and every season.
In the 33 years that Buss ran the team, the Los Angeles Lakers made the NBA Finals 16 times and won 10 championships. But despite the sense of urgency that seems to constantly surround the team, the thing that Bryant says that he learned the most from Dr. Buss was "to be patient."
Somewhere, there's a happy medium between Bryant's drive and the laid-back attitude of Howard.
On one hand, there's Bryant saying that he has "two years max" before he decides to hang them up. On the other hand, there's Howard who believes that the current iteration of the Lakers has years to figure it all out.
One would love to have been a fly on the wall when Bryant first got wind of Howard's comments. And while Bryant may, in fact, feel the draw of the fierce urgency of now, he did take the time during Dr. Buss' memorial servic...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
