LAKERS 2013-14 MEDIA GUIDE Jerry Hatten Buss 1933-2013 "I love L.A. The city and myself were soul mates." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2013-14 Los Angeles Lakers Media Guide was written and edited by Josh Rupprecht. Co-edited by Nick Mazzella with assistance from John Black and Daniel Ramirez. Design, layout and cover by Josh Rupprecht. Statistical assistance from Bob Rosen, Chris Thorn and the Elias Sports Bureau. Photography by Andrew Bernstein, Wen Roberts and NBA Photos. All NBA and team insignia depicted in this publication are the property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective teams of the NBA and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. The information contained in this publication was compiled by the Los Angeles Lakers and is provided as a courtesy to our fans and the press and may be used only for personal or editorial purposes. Any commercial use of this information is prohibited without the prior written consent of the Los Angeles Lakers. Copyright © 2013 Los Angeles Lakers 1 CHICK REMEMBERING A LEGEND In August of 2002, the Los Angeles Lakers lost a cherished family member with the passing of Chick Hearn. More than an announcer, Chick embodied the spirit and determination that have made the Los Angeles Lakers champions 16 times over. The Lakers lone play-by-play voice since the team moved to Los Angeles prior to the 1960-61 season, Chick was the Lakers for the better part of four decades. With his words-eye-view of the game and colorful chickisms making his broadcasts truly one of a kind, it is a streak of unmatched proportions that will perhaps be Chick’s lasting legacy. Beginning in Los Angeles on November 21, 1965 against the Philadelphia 76ers, Chick went on to broadcast 3,338 consecutive regular and postseason games, with the streak culminating in a 101-85 victory over the same Warriors on December 16, 2001. Two days later Chick underwent surgery to replace the aortic valve in his heart. The surgery was a success and Chick was expected to make a full recovery. Anticipating a return to the broadcast booth on March 1, Chick was again befallen by bad luck as he suffered a hip fracture in a fall on February 17. This additional setback would force Chick to undergo a second surgery and more rehabilitation. Again, however, he persevered and on April 9th, returned to the booth to broadcast the Lakers 112-82 victory over the Utah Jazz. Shortly into the broadcast of a game that began with the sellout crowd of 18,997 giving Chick an extended standing ovation, the legendary announcer gratefully exclaimed, “This is the happiest I've been since I married Marge!” Chick, along with his announcing partner of 15 years, Stu Lantz, broadcast the Lakers final five regular season games and each of the Lakers 19 playoff games. With Chick returning to his familiar position behind the mic, the Lakers season culminated on June 12 in New Jersey with their third consecutive NBA championship. The refrigerator door might have closed for the final time on that June evening as the Lakers defeated the New Jersey Nets, but Chick will forever be remembered for the fervor and passion that he brought to each and every Lakers broadcast. A TRIBUTE FROM BILL PLASCHKE As a tradition set forth in the 2004-05 edition of the Lakers media guide, the Los Angeles Lakers organization will select a prominent Southern California media member each year to pen a tribute to Chick and carry on his legacy with a favorite story or anecdote about the man who came to be known as the “Voice of the Lakers.” This year, the Los Angeles Lakers are pleased to have long-time Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke share some of his stories about the broadcasting icon. A sports columnist at the Times since 1996, Plaschke has made nationally recognized contributions in both journalism and public service. As a journalist, Plaschke, in his 21st year with the paper, has been named National Sports Columnist of the Year by a variety of organizations, including Associated Press, Sigma Delta Chi, and National Headliners. He has been a Pulitzer Prize entrant, and his work has been featured in several editions of the annual "Best American Sports Writing" book. He has also published a collection of his columns entitled, "Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoil Sports, Foul Balls and Odd Balls." Plaschke was recently named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters for his longtime involvement as a Big Brother. He has also received a "Pursuit of Justice'' award from the California's Women's Law Center for his coverage of women's sports. In 2002, Plaschke was selected to carry the Olympic Torch for a couple of blocks through downtown Los Angeles as it worked its way to Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics. Plaschke is also a regular panelist on the ESPN daily talk show, "Around The Horn" and made his film debut with three lines in the Will Smith movie, "Ali." In what some more cynical colleagues considered a stretch, Plaschke played the part of a sportswriter. Plaschke was born in Louisville, Ky., and worked in Fort Lauderdale and Seattle before joining the Los Angeles Times in 1987. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Imagine, if you will, an NBA broadcaster being honored by his team at halftime of a game he is working. Imagine him laying down the microphone, coming to midcourt, accepting the honor, enjoying a standing ovation, then making a speech. Imagine, in that speech, him referring to his team as ‘’dogs.’’ That was Chick Hearn, who was not only the longtime Lakers voice but also its most enduring conscience. That was Los Angeles’ beloved Chickie, speaking on a night when his team had stumbled through the first half and he just couldn’t take it anymore. 2 CHICK Man, I still miss him. It’s been 11 years since Chick Hearn died at age 85 after spending more than four decades as a Laker broadcaster, and the Lakers still don’t sound the same without him. He essentially introduced professional basketball to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and became its most clear and trusted voice through all the varied Lakers eras and diverse Lakers championships. At various times, at various levels, Lakers fans have been on a one-name basis with many of their stars, guys like Jerry and Elgin and Kareem and Magic and Worthy and Coop and Shaq and Kobe. But there was only one name that remained a constant companion through good times and bad, one name that rose from the level of fandom to family, and that would be Chick. “What Chick has meant to the Lakers and the popularity of NBA basketball in Los Angeles can never be overestimated,’’ said the late Dr. Jerry Buss upon Hearn’s death on Aug. 5, 2002. “This ‘words-eye view’ is as responsible for this success as any of the great players who have worn a Lakers uniform. We will be forever grateful to him.’’ It was appropriate that Dr. Buss honored him by using one of Chick’s wonderful word inventions. Chick referred to his broadcasts as giving the fans a ‘’words-eye view,’’ and, indeed, he practically invented the modern basketball lexicon with his many ‘’Chickisms.’’ Whenever I hear fans derisively chanting, ‘’Air-ball,’’ I don’t think of the poor player who just missed a shot, I think of Chick. He invented the word, and what a perfect word it is. Whenever I read about the NBA’s slam dunk contest – it’s not a dunk contest, it’s a ‘’slam dunk contest’’ – I think of Chick. He also invented that phrase, adding the ‘’slam’’ to the ‘’dunk’’ in a simple act of literary genius. Chick had a brilliant brain with a commoner’s tongue, making him beloved by both the Lakers’ front-row fans and their upper-deck faithful. He not only spoke like an imperfectly perfect broadcaster, he also sat like one, in the middle of the stands halfway up the lower section. He called the games not from some courtside perch or lofty box, but from the view of an average fan, in an area that was cramped and loud. He turned the NBA’s most glamorous franchise into a hometown team by situating himself as though he was watching a playground game with a crowd of neighborhood folks from behind a chain-link fence. I still remember the long lines of fans who paid homage to Hearn after his death by coming to the STAPLES Center with the sole intention of solemnly filing past this unique seat. It was a line filled with suits and jeans, dresses and cut-off shorts, the aging and the young. Chick related to everyone, even to a novice sports columnist who had grown up with baseball and was just trying to learn about basketball as he wrote about the Lakers. It was the spring of 1997, I was finishing my first full year as a Los Angeles Times sports columnist, and I had just botched the Lakers final playoff loss in Utah even worse than Kobe Bryant. While Kobe had been throwing up airballs on the court, I was filling my column with them, writing an impossible deadline piece filled with factual errors and typos. While exhaustedly hunched over my computer at courtside after finally filing an 800-word mess that night, I was passed by Chick as he was walking to the locker room.