An irony happened on the day of Kobe Bryant historic game when he scored 81 points 11 years ago. On the anniversary of that game, the Lakers suffered the worst defeat in the franchise history after Dallas Mavericks defeated them 122-73 on Sunday, Jan. 22.
On the 11th anniversary of Bryant historic game Dallas Mavericks humiliated the Lakers by giving them the worst loss in the history of the team, as reported by CBS Sports. The irony is that as 11 years ago Bryant scored 81 points by himself, the entire team of Los Angeles Lakers only scored 73 points and losing by 49 points against Dallas Mavericks.
Before this worst defeat, Los Angeles Lakers have suffered 48 points margin loss in two games in different season. The first one was against Utah Jazz on March 28, 2016, and against Clippers on March 6, 2014.
In the first season after Bryant’s resignation, Lakers play without strong leadership. There is no player in the roster who is able to lead the team, according to Los Angeles Times. The game againt Mavericks showed the worst thing that may happen and coach Luke Walton is aware of that.
“We didn’t really have anyone step up and do what needed to be done,” coach Walton said after the game.
As most of the core players in the Lakers are youngsters, it is difficult to designate and find leadership in them. Brandon Ingram is a rookie, D’Angelo Russell, and Larry Nance Jr. are second-year player, while Julius Randle is in this third season in the league. When their play is in the deadlock, there is no player who is able to stand up and break the deadlock like Bryant did.
The game against Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas showed exactly the lack of leadership.The Mavericks was able to put the Lakers offense on, while their entire squad wreak a havoc on Lakers defensive end.
Watch the full game highlight between the Lakers and Mavericks below: