Scenes from Lakers fans' sad protest outside Staples Center
The 2018-19 NBA season was a disaster for the Los Angeles Lakers, who briefly dreamed of an NBA Finals run after landing LeBron James last summer only to watch their once-proud franchise miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Over the course of the last month, Magic Johnson abruptly quit the team without telling anyone, the team parted ways with Luke Walton, and later failed to close a deal with Tyronn Lue, James’ preferred choice to be the next head coach. ESPN reported that former Lakers player and current adviser Kurt Rambis and his wife, Linda Rambis, played a key role in the decision on Lue. As the Lakers continue to search for leadership ahead of a pivotal offseason, fans have had enough.
Lakers fans used Reddit to organize a protest of the team, which was staged outside the Staples Center on Friday afternoon. The story quickly went viral, and media was camped out at the arena for hours before a small group of Lakers fans showed up.
A very small group of fans chanting “no more Rambis” while seemingly trying to hold back laughter.
There are thousands of disgruntled Lakers fans, if Twitter is any indication, but only a few dozen fans showed up at Staples Center.
One fan suggested the Lakers hire the entire Ball family.
Nick Young endorsed one Lakers fan’s call to make him the new general manager.