The End for a Staple (Center) in the Community
(Credit: @hipstermermaid, Twitter Meme)
The doors closing at the Staples Center on Thursday, December 23 will be the last day the building will be known as the Staples Center. On Christmas Day, the next home game for a team in the building will be known as the Crypto.com Arena. Let’s travel back in time to 1998 with the Clippers playing their home games at the LA Sports Arena next to the USC campus, as well as The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (Honda Center present day). While the Lakers are finishing the last season at the Great Western Forum, as did the LA Kings and the Sparks. When the arena opened in 1999, the Kings, Lakers, and Clippers moved to Staples while the Sparks joined 2 years later. The first game played in the arena was the Clippers against the Seattle SuperSonics with rookie Lamar Odom scoring 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, little did he know his career would reach its highest points for the stadium-mates just 10 years later. Staples Center is also where Kobe Bryant became Kobe winning 3straight titles with Shaq and Phil Jackson starting with the 1999 season, the first season in Staples. The kings didn’t win a title in Staples until the 2011 – 2012 season.
With the knowledge of major moments in not only sports but in history, so here will look at my top 5 moments in Staples Center history:
(Credit: Jed Jacobson; Getty Image)
5. Shaq and Kobe 3peat for the Lakers
It’s hard to choose which title was the best of the three. Each team they beat had a hall of Famers on them in Reggie Miller and Indiana Pacers in 1999-2000 season, 2000-2001 season beating Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, and 2001-2002 season sweeping the Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets. While going for the fourth title they ran into Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Kobe and Shaq will go down as arguably the greatest duo in NBA history with the dominance they showed.
(Credit: Al Bello; Getty Images)
4. ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosely vs “Golden Boy’ Oscar De la Hoya
The Boxing match billed as ‘Destiny’ was the first fight between the 2 legends of the sport. Both Fighters being from California and being at the top of the sport, it makes sense that they fought in the very first Boxing PPV at Staples Center. The fight was close, and De La Hoya ended up on the losing end. During the post-fight news conference, De La Hoya called for a rematch. They did it again in September 2005, but the result was the same. De La Hoya launched a protest immediately after the fight which many fans and analysts felt De LA Hola had won the fight.
(Credit: AFP Photo; Emmanuel Dunand)
3. Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers to his fourth and fifth world titles
Kobe Bryant lived in Shaquille O’Neal’s shadow while the Lakers were winning. When the relationship between Bryant and O’Neal became toxic and they could no longer coexist on the same team, the Lakers had to decide between Shaq and Kobe. They chose Kobe and it could have been horrible, as Shaq went to Miami and won another title with a young Dwayne Wade. Kobe stayed with a floundering Lakers team that eventually made the splash that only the Lakers can do and traded for Pau Gasol. That trade was the catalyst to Kobe winning titles four and five against the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics.
(Credit: Lori Shepler; LA Times)
2. Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors
On a lazy Sunday in January, Kobe Bryant was anything but lazy. He scored a whopping 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, becoming the second-highest single-game point total in a game. Looking back at the game, this could be the first time you see Kobe’s “Mamba Mentality” which didn’t become a thing until later in his career. In this game, Kobe outscored the Raptors in the second half by himself with Kobe scoring 59 compared to the Raptors 43 points. It was the greatest scoring game at Staples Center until the very last time he stepped on the court and scored 61 points.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
1. Kobe Bryant Memorial
Kobe and Gianna Bryant were among the nine that tragically passed away in January 2020 in a Helicopter Crash. The public funeral at Staples saw Legends of NBA, MLB, NFL, and Hollywood come to share stories and have fans be able to say goodbye to the Lakers Legend. The world of sports and entertainment shared their shock and disbelief of his passing. Kobe Bryant was an influence in the city of LA, the sports world, and even Hollywood as he won an Oscar in 2018 for his animated short film “Dear Basketball”. Kobe Bryant was the man in Staples Center, and they will always be linked together.