The Lakers are without a doubt one of the best and funniest stories in the NBA this season. It was only a few months ago that this team was legitimately one of the worst in the league, looking for trades and answers to right the ship — even then the consensus back then was that they didn’t do enough.
Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverly will get championship rings if the Lakers win the NBA title
The Lakers are preparing to give out a hilarious number of rings if they win the NBA Championship
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Now Los Angeles are one game away from the Western Conference Finals, and legitimately feel like the hottest team in the NBA. It’s far too early to imagine LeBron hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, but the team is already thinking ahead to the possibility. This includes ensuring that Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverly, and a host of other get their rings too.
This is objectively hilarious. It’s not uncommon for former players to get rings when they’re traded mid-season — but what makes this especially great is that there’s a strong argument to be made that Russ and Pat Bev were part of the reason the Lakers found themselves in a such a deep hole at the start of the season.
It’s neither players’ fault, they just didn’t gel with the team at all. Russ was functionally fine off the bench, but a far cry from the scoring spark that Lakers hoped he’d be as part of a big three with LeBron and AD, while Pat Bev was more or less a mammoth liability on both ends of the floor all season in Los Angeles.
The Lakers turned their season around thanks in large part to D’Angelo Russell’s offensive output, a healthy Anthony Davis carrying more of the load, and Lonnie Walker IV turning into a playoff beast. This means they’re now staring down the possibility of the finals and the 26 RINGS THEY WOULD GIVE OUT IF THEY WON!
Here’s everyone who is no longer on the Lakers who will get an NBA championship ring, should Los Angeles win:
- Russell Westbrook (Clippers)
- Patrick Beverly (Bulls)
- Thomas Bryant (Jazz)
- Kendrick Nunn (Wizards)
- Juan Toscano-Anderson (Jazz)
- Matt Ryan (Timberwolves)
- Damian Jones (Jazz)
- Sterling Brown (Raptors 905 — G-League)
- Davon Reed (Free agent)
This is pretty amazing considering the average NBA championship ring costs anywhere from $20-30K. So on the low-end the Lakers will be spending over half a million on rings alone to make sure everyone gets ones.
Hey, at least Russ gets a ring.
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