It’s a little too early to make plans to celebrate another NBA championship for the Los Angeles Lakers, but, at this point, it appears to be a possibility.
They hold a 2-1 series lead over the defending champion Golden State Warriors, and with Game 4 in Los Angeles, they have a golden opportunity to take command with a 3-1 series advantage.
Buy Lakers TicketsThe Lakers have turned their season around thanks to multiple midseason trades, and among the players who left in those trades were guards Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook.
According to Chris Haynes, if they were to win it all this summer, all players who were on their roster at some point this season would receive championship rings. That would include Beverley and Westbrook.
"They [Lakers] would extend a championship ring to ALL players who were on the roster at any point during this season." 💍
Russ and Pat Bev will get a ring if Lakers win the championship, per @chrisbhaynes pic.twitter.com/4Ybut4d2pf
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 8, 2023
Los Angeles struggled mightily during Westbrook’s one-and-a-half seasons with the team, and he was heavily criticized as a result, mostly by fans who felt everything that went wrong with the squad was somehow his fault.
After being dealt, Westbrook, who is a native of the Southland, was waived by the Utah Jazz, and he joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the rest of the season.