From the time it opened in 1967, The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. was the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, and it was the home of some of their fondest memories.
It hosted countless NBA Finals contests, and four times it was the scene of the Lakers clinching the world championship.
Along the way, it was also the home for many transcendent players, from Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain to Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.
By the late 1990s, it had long ago been renamed the Great Western Forum, but it was still home to the brilliant talents of Shaquille O’Neal and a young Kobe Bryant.
Unfortunately, the Lakers team as a whole was underwhelming; it had been swept by the Utah Jazz in the 1998 Western Conference finals.
The 1999 season was the final one at the Forum, and that year, L.A. hosted the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs.
Like the Jazz, the Spurs were a veteran outfit that didn’t beat itself, and it quickly put the immature Lakers in a 3-0 hole.
On May 23, 1999, the crowd at the Forum hoped L.A. would get at least one win and maintain some of its dignity.
It didn’t, however. It went out meekly, 118-107, and was swept again.
It was an empty finish yet again for the Purple and Gold, and it was an inglorious way to close a building that had seen so many incredible moments.
Luckily, the Lakers’ next home, Staples Center, would become the scene for more great memories almost right away.
