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LOS ANGELES -- Andrew Bynum sat in front of his locker with a scowl instead of a smile.
He was brief with his answers, short with his time and limited with his patience.
As Bynum took a page out of Kobe Bryant’s playbook of succinct, pithy answers during the playoffs, several reporters had to double-check the final box score in their hands and make sure there wasn’t a misprint.

The Los Angeles Lakers had just beaten the Denver Nuggets, 104-100, to take a 2-0 series lead in their first round matchup and Bynum finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Was there something missing?

“I left a lot on the court today,” Bynum said. “I worked way too hard before the game to let that happen. I could have had a perfect game.”

Bynum couldn’t define his perfect game, but it was certainly more than the stat line he produced Tuesday night. He wanted to get at least another rebound and at least a few more blocked shots. After getting a triple-double in Game 1, Bynum isn’t satisfied with anything less than a double-double now.

“I just left stats out there. That’s about it,” Bynum said. “I left a double-double out there, I left some block shots out there, I left points out there. I left a lot of things out there tonight.”

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Hall of Fame center and former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went on Sportscenter on Friday to discuss his upcoming appearance on Jeopardy and his children's book, but one of the things Lakers fans will be most interested in is Kareem's answer when asked what advice he would give to Andrew Bynum. Watch the interview below.

ESPNLA has launched a Sweet 16, Los Angeles-style. The most beloved figures in L.A. sports history. As you can imagine, there are one or six Lakers in the bracket. Make sure you drop by and vote.

Vote here: The Most Beloved.

LOS ANGELES -- Shaquille O’Neal was always afraid the day would never come.

When he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, he always dreamed he would one day see his jersey retired alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.

As the Lakers continued to get eliminated in the playoffs early during his first three seasons in L.A. he worried it might never happen, and again thought his chance might have been lost when he was traded from the team in 2004 and finished his career with the Boston Celtics.

When the Lakers, however, announced they would retire his jersey next season, O’Neal said it was one of the highlights of his career.

“It means a lot to me,” O’Neal said. “I remember when I first signed with the Lakers, Jerry West told me to look up at the retired jerseys. He said either your name is going to be up there or you’re going to be a bust so it will mean a lot to have my name up there. That was always with me, especially when we didn’t have Phil Jackson and we were always losing in the playoffs, I was nervous I wasn’t going to be that good. Then we got Phil and we won championships and I was always hoping and praying my jersey would get retired one day.”

O’Neal, who was in Los Angeles this weekend to host the Cartoon Network Hall of Game Awards, says he continues to watch the Lakers regularly after retiring in June and enjoyed watching Kobe Bryant pass him for fifth on the NBA all-time scoring list earlier this season. He did say, however, he should have been much higher on the list but injuries and an inability to hit his free throws held him back.

“Kobe’s one of those athletes like Michael Jordan and Karl Malone that doesn’t miss a lot of games because of injury,” O’Neal said. “I missed 250 games and I averaged 24 points per game so that’s 6,000 points and I missed 5,000 free throws so I could have easily been at No. 2. Kobe’s never really hurt and he shoots a lot so good for him.”

When Kobe Bryant passed Shaquille O'Neal to become the NBA's fifth all-time leading scorer, it prompted a flurry of debates about his place in basketball history, but also his ranking among great Lakers, as in this video with ESPN's Tim Legler.

I don't love his list -- Wilt Chamberlain (Legler's #4) fits better among the five greatest players in NBA history than the five best greatest Lakers -- and Jerry West, excluded by Legler, should be in the top 5. Still, there are two big notables. First, Legler has Magic Johnson ahead of Kobe Bryant for the top spot, but admits there is subjectivity and historical bias in play. Namely, Magic is elevated not just by his accomplishments but also Legler's respect for the NBA though the 1980's.

Johnson tops my list, too, but I've long thought the G.L.O.A.T debate is generational. For fans, say, 35 and over, it's tough to put anyone ahead of Magic, just as it was likely tough for the previous era to put Magic ahead of West. In time, though, I suspect more often than not Kobe will land at the top, because more "voters" will come the pool of fans who grew up watching him, and only know Magic from highlight reels.

Second, lists like these reinforce the almost absurd levels of success and star power of the Lakers' franchise, historically speaking. Pundits and fans alike routinely assemble Top 5's like this one, and Hall of Famers James Worthy and Gail Goodrich don't get a sniff. For many -- maybe most -- there's no room to squeeze in Elgin Baylor. Elgin Baylor!

Pretty incredible.

"Listen, I can't tell you what's going on. Just be there. This is gonna change all of our lives."

These were the words of Lakers head athletic trainer Gary Vitti as he instructed members of the 1992 Lakers to attend a mandatory meeting at the Forum on November 7, 1991. Among a select few sworn to secrecy, Vitti couldn't reveal the reason: Magic Johnson needed to tell his teammates about testing HIV-positive. Shortly after, Johnson would tell the world.

The day did change lives, and well beyond those in the Laker family.

With Monday marking the 20th anniversary of Magic's unforgettable press conference, I met with Vitti at the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo for his thoughts on the day and its significance. The two have been close friends since 1984 and despite having talked about this period countless times, Vitti still gets choked up reliving it. The details and emotions shared make this podKast truly worth a listen.

You can hear the entire show here, and below is a breakdown of talking points:

(:08) - Vitti's and Johnson's relationship was initially distant, then a bit contentious after the trainer felt the point guard gave him a "snotty answer" to a question. Johnson quickly explained via a smile and a bear he was only kidding around. "That was the moment we bonded," explained Vitti of a friendship now grown exceptionally strong.

(3:13) - Vitti actually figured out Magic contracted the HIV virus before being formally told. The Lakers were in Utah for an exhibition game against the Jazz, and Magic, who'd been experiencing fatigue, was told he urgently needed to return to L.A., no questions asked. Everybody was in the dark and the mystery ate at Vitti. "I just couldn't let it go," says the trainer of the undisclosed issue. "All of a sudden Magic has to go home. It can't be good, right?"

After wracking his brain for days, he suddenly remembered during a game against the Jazz that Magic had taken a physical for a life insurance policy. The light bulb went off, and keeping it together while on the job was a nightmare task.

"That game, Tony Smith, was a second year guard," recalls Vitti. He was having a great training camp and he severely sprained his ankle. Third degree ankle sprain. And he's laying on the table in the training room at the Delta Center and he's very, very upset. He's in tears. And I grab him by the shirt and I say, 'What are you crying about? Because the injury hurts? Or are you crying because you're depressed?' And he just sort of shakes his head. And I said, 'Well, you're gonna get better. You're gonna get better. Some people aren't.'

"No idea what I'm talking about. He looks at me like I've got three heads."

In many ways, however, knowing was just as bad as not knowing. Vitti could tell nobody -- even his wife -- which meant lying to the faces of people like then-head coach Mike Dunleavy about Magic having the flu. Thus, he often had to carry this emotional weight alone.

"We thought it was a death sentence," admits Vitti. "At some point, I'm gonna lose one of my close friends. And not just lose him, but he's gonna whither away in a horrible death."

-(10:15) Thankfully, Magic was around to talk Vitti off the ledge. Crazy as it sounds, that's essentially what happened when the two finally discussed Johnson's diagnosis. Vitti was "a wreck" and Magic remained positive, promising his friend he'd be just fine.

"I don't want you to worry about me," Johnson told Vitti. "When God gave me this disease, he gave it to the right person. I'm gonna do something really good with this. I'm gonna beat this."

Vitti collected himself enough to pledge unwavering support.

"I said, 'I'm with you all the way. To the end. Whatever it takes. If I have to leave the Lakers or whatever you need me for, I'm your guy.' "

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Looking for a way to suck the remaining productivity from your Monday workday? I present you this list of 20 nominees for the inaugural ESPNLA Hall of Fame. Choose five.

Four, really, because only a loon would leave John Wooden, who delivered 10 titles to UCLA's basketball program while shaping countless people in and out of sports with his Pyramid of Success as well as the honor and integrity with which he lived his life, off the list. Wooden is quite possibly the most respected coach in any sport, anywhere, ever. He's in.

Score one for the Bruins. From there, though, the Lakers make a hard charge.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won five titles and three MVP awards with the Lakers -- not bad -- but on top of that went 88-2 with the Bruins in three seasons at UCLA, each bringing a title (for which he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player), and was so dominant the NCAA outlawed the dunk just to slow him down. Call him a split vote between golds purple and blue if you'd like but by any definition no player had a better basketball career in Los Angeles, college and pro, than Kareem.

That said, when it comes to a sustained run as the iconic face for sports in this city, no athlete tops Magic Johnson. Flash his picture across a television screen, and people don't just think Lakers, they think Los Angeles. Add in a couple trifles -- five titles and status as the greatest point guard in NBA history -- and his place in the five-person class is also a lock.

Now it gets tricky. With a Bruin and two Lakers (or 1 1/2 of each, if you prefer) in the books, only two spots remain ... with Jerry West still on the ballot. And Chick Hearn. And Pat Riley, Elgin Baylor and Phil Jackson, along with every Dodger, Trojan, Ram, Raider, King and Olympian.

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I'm not saying Dwight Howard is coming today (really, I'm not), but the gentle echoes of yesteryear say it would make some sense. Via NBA.com's "This Date in History" Page:

"June 16, 1975: The Milwaukee Bucks traded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Elmore Smith, forward David Meyers, guard Brian Winters and swingman Junior Bridgeman."

(Incidentally, nobody ever talks about Wesley, who played one pretty productive game in purple and gold, scoring four points in only seven minutes. Very efficient!)

UPDATE (6:15 pm PT)- Well, if there was any remaining ambiguity about Kareem's stance regarding the statue and how he's been treated by the organization, he's managed to clear it up on his Twitter feed. Yowza! All told, it's pretty clear Kareem's anger is based in things going beyond simply not getting a statue promptly enough.


I realize Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the game's all-time leading scorer, but nonetheless it takes an awful lot of chutzpah to complain about not having a statue erected in your honor. The Lakers, he says, owe him some real estate outside Staples Center:

..."I don't understand (it). It's either an oversight or they're taking me for granted," Abdul-Jabbar told The Sporting News in a recent interview. "I'm not going to try to read people's minds, but it doesn't make me happy. It's definitely a slight. I feel slighted."

The six-time NBA MVP sounded even more offended in a statement released subsequently by his business manager.

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgment of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history..."

I particularly like the clarification of the initial quote to TSN, removing any potential for misunderstanding. Not just regular offended, but highly! Again with the chutzpah. According to the team, Kareem will (quite deservedly) get his statue when the next opportunity to bronze a Laker rolls around, but it's not as if he has been passed over for likenesses of Cedric Ceballos and Shea Seals. The two players currently honored outside the arena are Magic Johnson and Jerry West. Unassailable as his basketball and Lakers credentials may be, stories like this undercut the work he has done over the years to create a more accessible and gracious image.

In the meantime, we're starting a campaign to recognize, if only in a small way, the contributions of Slava Medvedenko and Von Wafer, both to the team, and more important, our blog. If not a bronze commemoration at Star Plaza, maybe something in paper mache near one of the parking garages.

Kobe Bryant will own a multitude of franchise records by the time he calls it a career. Some will require a few more years of toil. Others, about 24 hours. Assuming he's not traded or cut before Tuesday's season opener against the Rockets, Bryant will enter his 15th season in purple and gold, breaking a tie with Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Elgin Baylor.

Given the mechanics of modern sports, the NBA certainly being no exception, this may be the most unbreakable of all the marks Bryant sets as a Laker. With the contract extension he signed last season, Kobe should complete 18 seasons in L.A.. Since few are convinced that was the last of his contracts, the number could rise even more.

It's also a number illustrating why, while it may be fun to engage in Kobe vs. Magic/Michael/Fill-in-the-blank debates (and we will), they should always be held with context in mind: Bryant isn't done yet. And even those who feel it will be very difficult for Kobe to "pass" Jordan on the all-time list (count me as one) have to understand 20 years after he retires the 20 years or so Kobe will log in the NBA will mean a lot more to the generations (and his career will encompass more than one) who saw him. They'll tell Kobe stories like others tell tales of Magic and M.J., or West and Wilt.

Nothing in sports is static. Bryant will pile up more numbers, and could very well add more jewelry to his collection, but for those hoping he reaches the top of Mt. G.O.A.T., time could be your best weapon.

This offseason at a charity poker tournament, Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss caught the attention of Lakers fans and media alike by pontificating the potential of his current two-time defending champion squad:

"I think that's really called camp spring fever. Every time I've ever gone to camp, everybody starts talking and saying, 'This team could be the best team we've ever had,' and I guess I fall into that same trap because when I look at this team, every single individual on that team seems to me capable of playing a very important role next year and as of now, I feel there's a good chance this could be the best team we've ever had."

That is, no doubt, a comment qualified with admitted giddiness. But this being a quest for a third straight title, pondering the question certainly doesn't feel outrageous.

Could the 2010-2011 Lakers be the best squad bankrolled by the iconic owner?

If you wanna go whole hog, could this be the greatest Lakers team of all-time?

Could a third straight title bump the current incarnation of Lakers (2008-present) past Phil Jackson's first three-peat era? The 1972 champs with Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Gail Goodrich (plus the previous seasons with Elgin Baylor)? The George Mikan era, which started it all?

Even Showtime?

It's a question impossible to answer now, with no games in the books and the 2011 title still up for grabs. It's a question arguably impossible to answer at all, since elite greatness is difficult to rank.

"You really can't do that," said long-time Lakers Assistant Coach Frank Hamblen of making comparisons. "You can, but it's all hypothetical."

Assistant coach Jim Cleamons, whose playing days include a '72 championship ring, agreed.

"It really is [hard] because each generation basketball kind of changes, and the personalities come out that represent a different type and style and play," Cleamons said.

Be that as it may, at the heart of most sports debates is an attempt to count angels on a pin head. With that in mind, the question we plan to address throughout the season is where do the 2011 Lakers appear to stack up, and what are the criteria for defining the best?

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On this week's podcast, we spoke with longtime L.A. sportswriter Steve Springer, who covered the Lakers for over two decades, noting the achievements of owner Jerry Buss both in Los Angeles with the Lakers and contributing to the resurrection of the NBA. Friday night, he was officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, not everyone has NBA TV, so it's possible many fans didn't get a chance to see his induction speech.

No worries. Below is the transcript.

"I guess you can tell I'm happy to be here. In fact, I'm probably happier than anyone, because most of the people that come up here have an inkling of the idea that someday they may make the Hall of Fame. Believe me, when I was 21, I never thought I'd be enshrined with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan. In high school, I was on overly competitive but under-ly endowed player. I turned to heavy studies, and eventually won a scholarship to the University of Wyoming. I worked hard at the books, but I always took time to watch Wyoming play.

A lot of people don't know this, as a matter of fact -- Wyoming won the NCAA basketball championship (in 1943).

After my university graduation at Wyoming, I went to graduate school. I had a lot of offers, but I chose the one with the best athletic program: USC. I became a die-hard basketball fan, with early memories of Walt Hazzard kicking the crap out of my beloved Trojans.

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Given how a Lakers-Celtics showdown sparks so much talk about the history of both franchises, ESPN is offering fans the chance to vote on their all-time Lakers starting five. (There's the all-time Celtics starting five, too, if you're into that sort of green thing.) Vote early, vote often and share your thoughts on the ultimate "Franchise 5." To get the ball rolling, here are my selections from the choices below:

Point guard

Finalists: Derek Fisher, Gail Goodrich, Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Nick Van Exel
With sincere respect to Fish, No. 25, Norm and "Nick The Quick," this is a no-brainer for even the lobotomized. Magic's being the consensus best point guard ever would make this an easy call. Magic's being arguably the greatest Laker ever -- and, as I noted a while ago, he may retain permanent ownership of the crown -- would make this an easy call. But here's what makes the call indisputable: Magic could well be argued to be greatest player of all time. I'm guessing most people wouldn't rank him ahead of Michael Jordan, but I doubt even those people would deem the premise indefensible. That Magic can even remain in the same sentence as "pick your gold standard" baller constructs an open-and-shut case.

Not to be a jerk, but if you pick anyone else, you're simply wrong.

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"We learned all about those aspects of life that most kids want to skip over. He wouldn't let us do that."

--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on John Wooden

My son is just over five months old. I hope one day he might say something similar about me. Or even that he knew I tried.

There are, as you might expect, some very moving stories of and tributes to Coach Wooden appearing across the web tonight:

-William Nack, ESPN.com
-Jon Weisman, DodgerThoughts
-T.J. Simers, LA Times
-Bill Plaschke, LA Times
-Eric Neel, ESPN.com (from 2005)
-Kareem, speaking at a plaque dedication ceremony for Wooden in 2008

Here's a great one, too, from legendary Times columnist Jim Murray, originally appearing August 10, 1972.

Leave more in the comments section as you find them.

A few days back, we ran a series of poll questions on the blog, just to help get people get into a Finals mood and take the temperature of Lakers fans on a few important issues. One question read as follows:

"To be considered the Greatest Laker of All Time (G.L.O.A.T) does Kobe need a title over Boston?"

About 15 percent said he's already the G.L.O.A.T, another eight percent have decided he'll never pass (insert ultimate Laker here), and six percent said no. That leaves a full 71 percent of those responding- and given our demographic I presume we're talking predominantly Lakers fans- believing yes, he does. For all his accomplishments already banked and those yet to come, now that he'll have had two cracks at the Celtics for a title, if Kobe wants to stick his flag at the summit of Mt. Purple and Gold, he have to vanquish The Green.

I'll admit, I found that number surprising.

Growing up in St. Louis through the 80's, I assumed the Lakers and Celtics played about seven thousand times a year, because those are the only two teams I remember seeing on TV. Even with my semi-casual relationship to basketball and the NBA, I was able to develop an understanding of the rivalry's importance. But I don't have that visceral hatred for the Celtics running through the veins of die-hards and native Angelinos. It's the sort of thing that changes fans on a molecular level, like being bitten by an irradiated spider or exposed to gamma radiation. I get that.

At the same time, even if the Lakers don't win a second straight title this month, the window doesn't close on Kobe. He could certainly add a couple more rings, giving him a larger jewelry collection than Magic or Kareem (with the Lakers, at least). In terms of Lakers records, Kobe owns a ton of them now, and by the time he's done will be near or at the top of just about every counting stat available, in some cases by a mile or six. The resume is already impressive, putting him in rarefied air. As ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin notes in his feature on Bryant, there aren't all that many mountains for him to climb.

So my question, and the Question of the Day, is this: If you think Kobe has to knock off the Celtics to be the G.L.O.A.T., why? If you don't, why not? Is it a major consideration? More of a tiebreaker? Icing on an already impressive cake?

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