National Basketball Association

Here's why the Lakers are no longer the laughingstock of the NBA

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:50 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Can you feel it, Lakers fans? That excitement building deep in the marrow of your bones — does it make you feel alive?

Don't hold back, dear friends. It's only one game, but new head coach Luke Walton already set the tone for the post-Kobe era in Los Angeles. 2016-17 will be an incredible, compelling, entertaining season full of growth and happiness for the purple and gold, because this Lakers squad is about to embrace chemistry.

It's a shocking turn of events for a team that was "all Kobe Bryant, all the time" for the past ... well, the past decade, really. As the Black Mamba faded into the twilight of his career, there was little room for anyone else. In turn, guys like D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle were shuffled off to the side by coach Byron Scott. Their time would come later. The present (and recent past), belonged to Kobe.

Those days are gone, swept out of town by the hiring of Walton. In Tuesday's season-opening win against the Rockets, the young Los Angeles prospects played with an unfettered joy usually reserved for champions. They embraced each other's triumphs, building an unstoppable confidence that led to victory.

And for L.A.'s rookie head coach, that's precisely the plan this season. So long as these Lakers come together as a true team, 2016-17 will be a succes in Walton's book.

Via Bleacher Report:

"Everything we're trying to preach right now," Walton said, "is it's not about individuals. It's about us as a team."

That's it. There's nothing more and nothing less to Walton's "secret" as a head coach — or why the Lakers will be so much better this year without Kobe. As Jordan Clarkson explained further, Walton simply "changed the vibe" around the team by making it clear that the squad comes first.

"You see us, jumping around, having fun, laughing, smiling. It's just great. We're all out there competing; we're really excited about the year. Coach came in here and changed the vibe."

And this is why Lakers fans should be ecstatic about the future. Kobe represented the NBA's old guard in countless ways, not least of all with his star power. Less than 10 years ago, the ultimate trump card for a championship contender was a go-to scorer — an alpha dog, as it were. Your superstar was your team, and everything else revolved around such a galactic presence that warped space and time.

That concept defined Kobe's career as much as it did the league in general. He was either vying with Shaq as L.A.'s top canine or proving that the path to a championship went through Staples Center. Along the way, the Lakers lost a sense of team identity. They were Kobe. Kobe was them. Such a laser focus on one player took its toll on one of sports' proudest franchises, leaving the Lakers at rock bottom.

Of course, Kobe wasn't the only albatross around the Lakers' collective neck. Perhaps more than even his departure, getting rid of Byron Scott set a new tone for this young team. Gone is the coach who undermined players' confidence and sabotaged the future by overplaying veterans. No longer do guys like D'Angelo Russell and Clarkson have to worry about receiving criticism simply for being millennials. One offseason was all it took for Los Angeles to rebound from their nadir.

Now, the Lakers begin their climb back to the top — as a team. That ascent will take time. There will be mountain-sized bumps in the road along the way. Yet whatever challenge this team faces, they'll respond with the enthusiasm necessary to break back into playoff content.

One day at a time, smiling along the way. That's what the Lakers need these days, and that's how they'll go about their business. Walton will see to that.