The Lakers are one of the most decorated franchises in the NBA. They are tied with the Celtics for the most championships at 17.
But even the best teams have tough seasons. Some intentionally tank in order to get high draft picks and plan to be competitive at a later stage.
That is not how the Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sees her team operating. “It’s hard to win in the NBA…,” she said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “Nobody has the exact formula. But I know you can’t win a championship if you’re not the playoffs.
“You can provide enough resources to make sure that you have a competitive team year in and year out. Some people may debate the idea of tanking for several years. My dad never did that in 32 years,” Ms. Buss remembered her late father Jerry who was the previous owner of the team.
“It’s just not the way he would have seen the Lakers brand to be at the bottom of the standing year after year. He always felt that the fans invested their time and their money in your team and you have to perform for them and if you don’t, then they’re going to move on and find something else to spend their time and money on.
“They deserve to have a quality product. Nobody can promise a championship a year, but again unless you are in playoffs, you’re not going to get a chance to win. So I like to have the team be in a position to compete for championships year in and year out.”
