NBA championships have always been the standard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, the team hasn’t experienced that level in the past few years. The last time they did that was in 2020 and a prominent member of that roster, Danny Green, revealed they were playing for more than just themselves.
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From the time the team relocated to Los Angeles in 1960, the Lakers had been a perennial postseason team. However, the 2010s would put the Lakers in unfamiliar territory. They would go on to miss the postseason for six consecutive years, marking by far the longest drought in franchise history. Thankfully, LeBron James signed with the team, which gave the organization a bright light in an era of darkness.
His first year in the 2018-19 season didn’t go as planned, as the team would miss the playoffs once more. Things would change once the front office pulled off a massive trade to acquire Anthony Davis. The Lakers would also go on to sign key free agents such as Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Danny Green.
It was clear that the Lakers had returned to championship-calibre basketball in the 2019-20 season. As great as things were going, the morale of the team would drastically change in the first month of 2020, following the death of franchise legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi.
“We knew we were playing for something bigger than ourselves,” Green revealed on Byron Scott’s Fast Break. “Kobe is obviously the biggest part of LA. We were playing for the city. What better year to do it than this year.”
Danny Green on why it was so important for the Lakers to beat the Miami Heat in the bubble to honor Kobe Bryant’s death that year:
“Through that year we played with a different type of chip on our shoulder. Even without those mamba jerseys we knew we were playing for something… https://t.co/9N8Q0lKn7f pic.twitter.com/ObfLPhsRe1
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) January 19, 2026
It goes without saying that Bryant was a legend in the city of Los Angeles. His death didn’t just shake up the Lakers franchise but millions of fans across the city and the world. Up until that point, the Lakers were fighting purely out of their competitive fire.
Following Kobe and Gigi’s death, they released a special Black Mamba jersey. The team used those uniforms as a rallying cry to band together in the wake of Bryant’s passing. Green revealed the entire team viewed the jersey as more than just a part of the uniform.
“Winning for him and Gigi. Putting on those black uniforms with the snake skins. You could feel it’s a more meaningful type of thing,” Green revealed.
The Lakers wore those jerseys throughout the latter half of the season, especially once the NBA transitioned to the bubble. The more the team wore the uniform, the more comfort they began to feel.
“Every time we played in his uniform, we felt like he was with us,” Green proclaimed.
In storybook fashion, the Lakers went on to win the championship in honor of Kobe and Gigi. People can say whatever they want about the legitimacy of the LA’s ring in the bubble. However, they can’t take away the blood, sweat and tears the team poured into reaching the capturing that title.
