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Last year was my first year going to the NBA Summer League in Vegas and had a blast. Opening Day featured #1 Vs #2 picks (Wiggins / Parker) and the 2,500 or so capacity gymnasium at Cox Pavilion was over-booked. Fans were turned away AND ejected if they were NOT in a seat.
Meanwhile, the games in Thomas and Mack (capacity 19,000) were pretty sparse.
That changed this season.
ALL of the top games this season are scheduled in Thomas and Mack beginning with the opening Day matchup of #1 v #2 (Towns / Russell).
I tried prepping my fiancee for what I anticipated as being a LARGE crowd for this year's Lakers Squad. Last year there was some buzz around Randle but that was about it. Surprising that there was Little excitement surrounding then Lakers Point Guard Kendall Marshall... (sarcasm)
Anyhow, I knew we had to get there early but even with that knowledge and expectation I was blown away when we hit the parking lot. It was easy to tell right away that this place was PACKED!
We got there a little later than we wanted, which was right around halftime of the previous game(Raptors/Kings) to the Lakers/ Wolves showdown.
Seating was scarce and there was a lot of GOLD in the arena..
Turns out that "they" had to open up some of the upper arena seating and it has been reported that nearly 12,500 people were in attendance. A record for the NBA Summer League.
LAKERS
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| the NBA SUMMER LEAGUE set an Attendance record of nearly 12,500 thanks to LAKERs FANS |
The Lakers entered the arena and the ovation was crazy!
You can click on either GAME ONE or GAME TWO to check my wrap-ups on plays and players' performances...
After the Lakers finished playing, the crowd cleared out. Playing next was the world champion Golden State Warriors. Their crowd may have been 3,000.
Some, like Knicks Coach D-Fish call Vegas "LA EAST."
It IS easy to get to but aren't the Clippers and Clippers' FANS the same distance away?
Oakland/ Golden State isn't THAT far away...
The point is, not ONLY do LAKERS fans dominate Twitter with the largest following of ANY SPORTS franchise, they are dominating the NBA SUMMER LEAGUE.
It TRULY IS a
In the last two seasons which have been two of the worst Win/Loss seasons ever (last season was the worst), the Lakers following on Twitter has increased from roughly 3.7 Million to now 4.41 Million.
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| Lakers Own Twitter AND VEGAS |
Meanwhile, the Clippers have enjoyed the three best seasons for their franchise and they have 779,000 Twitter followers...
The world champion WARRIORS? 1 Million
Apparently, winning doesn't necessarily matter.
Being a Laker Fan is unique. This storied franchise has 16 RINGS and has consistently been at the top of the division year-over-year with only suffering minor setbacks for a few seasons here and there. "WE" are currently going through those re-build growing pains but on the heels of FA deals gone wrong (DH12 and NASH), record-setting number of injuries including major injuries, the loss of Kobe Bryant and "OUR" top pick last year suffering a season-ending fracture. Pretty unique set of circumstances to "bounce-back" from.
Yet..
The FANS are there.
The Fans remain loyal and continue to grow as a fan-base. It is amazing to see and brings a smile from ear-to-ear. There was mad love for the purple and gold in Vegas.
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What's UP, Baby Lakers? You gonna WIN THIS?
CLICK IMAGE FOR NBA SUMMER LEAGUE TOURNEY SEEDINGS and SCHEDULE
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