The Los Angeles Lakers have had a busy offseason, but they are likely done with major roster moves for now. After re-signing Austin Reaves and trading multiple picks for Walker Kessler, they believe they have a roster that can hold its ground in the Western Conference.
Of course, not everyone sees the vision. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, for example, has doubts about the Lakers’ new big three. Specifically, he takes issue with their main core all being white guys, which is something you don’t typically see in the NBA.
“Where the hell do the Los Angeles Lakers think they are going with a bunch of white dudes? Your three top players are white dudes? Really? This ain’t golf, this ain’t baseball, it ain’t even soccer. This is basketball,” said Smith on his podcast. “In NBA history, when have you seen your three most prominent players on the basketball team all be white, and what takes you to the promised land? Somebody gotta say it, so I’m saying it. This is basketball; I’m not complaining; I’m making the point. The Lakers aren’t going anywhere being led by three white dudes in today’s generation of basketball. It ain’t happening. They both have earned what they have earned, and with LeBron James, I get it. But those two and Walker Kessler? You ain’t scaring anybody with that. Rob Pelinka has made this white dude central. No wonder LeBron James walked out the door.”
Fans responded by calling the take racist, but Smith is just speaking from history. Never before has a team won the championship with its three leading players being white. For legends like Larry Bird and Nikola Jokic, most of their teammates were Black, and the same could be said for Dirk Nowitzki. For most of the league’s existence, Black athletes made up the vast majority of the player base, and they were typically more athletic than their lighter-skinned counterparts.
The Lakers, however, broke tradition by not only having a star trio of white stars at the top, but also having half the depth chart made up of them. Currently, the majority of the Lakers roster is white or non-Black, including Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Drew Timme, and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Even their head coach, JJ Redick, is white. On top of it all, they lost LeBron James, one of their biggest culture setters who maintained peace and prosperity in the locker room.
Nevertheless, neither the Lakers nor their fans are worried. Unlike Stephen A., they don’t see race. The only thing they care about is results on the court, and it’s hard to argue that Reaves, Doncic, and Walker do not deserve their lucrative contracts. Together, they have the potential to carry the Lakers to glory and disprove the stereotypes.
For Smith, the whole thing is a major misstep by the Lakers. In his eyes, they don’t have the kind of lineup that strikes fear in opponents, and they will come to regret committing to their new star trio. It’ll be up to the Lakers to prove him wrong and show once and for all that the racial makeup of a roster (and outward appearance as a whole) has no impact on chances of success.
