The FALL of the Los Angeles Lakers 

What would it take for the Lakers to return to their former glory?? ANNOUNCEMENT: My next video will be posted the day after tomorrow, and I will be FINALLY addressing Tom Haberstroh’s article about Michael Jordan’s 1988 DPOY, and the “fake stats”. I HAVE THE FOOTAGE, and I will SHOW YOU what exactly happened. This video will be around 30 minutes long, and will be an obsessive breakdown, and we'll discover the truth about that whole situation. Stay tuned….

RIP Jerry West, the mastermind behind the Lakers' three decades of glory.

Agreed! The children are completely incompetent. None of them have the business acumen of their father. I can't root for this team any longer.

i lost faith in this management

So glad you profiled Dr.Buss. To me he built an organization and a brand. Now days the lakers are just a brand. Dr. Buss was a hard worker, he worked in the field in the cold as a youth. He understood what it took. He wasn’t born rich, his father left him he was a true success story. Lakers were always glitz but they were also grit.

You are so correct, Jonny. 100% correct. When Dr. Buss died, the kids didn’t keep the tradition going. As a lifelong Celtics fan, I’m elated! The Lakers won’t be “The Lakers” again unless they are bought by someone with Dr. Buss’ mindset.

Letting Lakers President Jerry West walk away in 2000 was actually the beginning of a very slow death of the franchise. The demise of the team can be traced directly back to the day West walked out of his Lakers office for the last time.

I think the problem with Jeanie is she tied her entire Laker's legacy to an aging LeBron. She went all in on that horse and now she has no way of getting off that ride. It is going to take years and years for the Lakers to recover. They either need to somehow land a current youngish star once they're contract goes away or they got to get lucky in the draft. None of it will matter though until LeBron's chokehold on the organization goes away.

The busses are the real nepotism problem with the lakers

When they hired Dantoni over Phil, that was the nail in the Bus coffin. It just got worse and worse and worse.

The lakers “dark age” 2016-2018 The wolves dark age: 20 years without a playoff series win Lakers fans have it easy 😂

Much respect to you for blessing our live stream today!! Thank you for the support! 🤝🏾🙏🏽

no #55 pick has ever gotten this much attention it’s actually crazy especially with averaging 4 points in college

As a fellow Lakers fan, I agree with you. We're screwed for the foreseeable future.

Lakers went from "Showtime" to "Keeping Up With The Lebronians"

Jeanie and LBJ destroyed my team

Jonny I can’t express how much love respect and admiration I have for you not only as a lakers fan but as a person. I’m glad you’re not scared to say what most of us feel… given your platform and the amount of hate you’re bound to see. Thank you for always keeping your integrity and continuing to make great objective and brutally honest content. I appreciate you so much 🙏

This shows that winning really boils down to leadership within the front office. Even the greatest talents the game has seen (Magic, MJ, Kobe, Bron, etc.) didn't win until they got with an organization that provided them with the environment that would help them suceed.

This video forgot to mention that in 2019 Lakers fans protested outside Staples Center due to the bad moves of the Lakers organization.

nepotism killed our glorious team

Showtime was really kick-started when Paul Westhead and his super-speedy, let's-always-fast-break offense came to town and the Lakers ran their way to the 1980 title. Westhead was replaced by Pat Riley, but the run-and-gun style had already been imprinted on the key players.

I 1000% agree.. Once Dr. Buss passed away, the Lakers were not the same. It's very sad. The Buss family is completely incompetent and I don't believe the Lakers will be relevant until the Buss family sells the team. Maybe the younger brothers Joey and Jesse might have potential. The mom and pop's can't run in the NBA like they used to.

Ive had it with this organization. I was fortunate enough to see the last years of Kobe’s contention vs celtics but after that, its like they continue to dig a deeper hole for themselves

As a Lakers fan, I approve of this message.

Lakers ownership and front office is basically the plot of the show Succession

Only in the NBA can a team win a championship every few years, make the playoffs damn near every year and be considered on the decline.

I honestly didn't think the Lakers of all franchises would let LeBron do this.

Pretty sad what the Lakers have become, I’m just so glad to have witnessed the Kobe era!

Here in San Antonio there’s no love lost for the Lakers. But it sure used to be a dynamic class organization that it sure is not now and hasn’t been for a long time.

The Lakers before and after Dr Jerry Buss is like Man United before and after Sir Alex Ferguson. Football fans will get this

There was actually a really good conversation on First thing's First about how playing for or coaching the Lakers is no longer worth it

You my friend is what I call a "realistic Laker fan". You know what time it is. I'm also a long time Laker fan, since '63. I been saying the same thing you've said in this piece. The only difference, I've also called out Laker ownership for paying Kobe max $$$'s AFTER his career changing achilles injury. In addition, the Buss familys' net worth doesn't rank very high among today's NBA owners. Truly hope the Buss family receives an offer they can't refuse to sell the team.

The Lakers have become the 2015-20 era NY Knicks

The reasoning isn't the same for what I'm about to say, but the situation is. As a lifelong University of Michigan fan, we had to deal with this for awhile. It will take some time and the hiring of the right people as coaches and front office, but it will eventually get better. Unfortunately, the process can't begin until LeBron leaves

Why didn’t dr buss put Jerry west in charge… what might of been…

Dr. Buss the man

The way Phil Jackson is describing Mike D'Antoni's offense -- lots of 3's, especially corner ones, bigs who can shoot from outside, push the ball and shoot before the defense can get set in the halfcourt -- sounds a lot like what Steve Kerr did with GS to win 4 titles and what Boston just did to win the title a few weeks ago.

I wonder what the Lakers will look like after LeBron retires and they finally rebuild. I imagine AD would get traded for draft capital

Great piece, I made this same argument to my cowrkers years ago.

From a Celtics fan, Jeanie has ruined it. Jerry was a fantastic owner before he tragically passed and made you wanna play for LA with the lakers and gave you that California vibe while playing. But now we got guys picking smaller markets over LA, 2nd apron does have something to do with it, but I think the lakers organization as a whole has lost their way. Jeanie clearly is catering to lebron and will do anything to get him to stay thus why they drafted bronny. They were also the only organization that complemented Bronny at practice sessions. The Lakers don’t seem to care to get better, they want to help lebron’s legacy and sell more lakers gear. Jeanie also wants to prove she can run the lakers better than her brother and losing the biggest name in the sport would be horrible for her. It’s a sibling competition that’s running the lakers

It's interesting to me that the nepotism everyone is pointing to for the downfall of the Lakers is the LeBron James/Bronny James issue while the true source of nepotism that has led them to this position is Jerry Buss and Jeanie Buss. I'm not saying the Lakers are the only team that employees nepotism, absolutely not. Also, I am not a LeBron James fan whatsoever and I am not defending him pushing the Lakers and running them into the ground but it is the weak, fame-seeking, ineptitude of Jeanie Buss that has allowed this to happen.

One word is all that's required to describe the Lakers in 2024. That word is LeCircus.

Have a great Sunday ❤️😊

Have a great Sunday 😃😃

Reminds me of Man United. Nothing changes until the cancer coming from the top is removed.

The Lakers have become more of a drama factory than an elite team. They will continue to make money, I’m sure.

As a Laker fan this is a fantastic video. You get a subscribe from me for this. Lakers will get back to their former glory and will always be the most storied franchise but Jeanie needs to sell the team

Your opinion is solid to me no matter what Jonny, I get the frustrations regardless of teams. Please just don’t end up like these other YT channels Uncut Hoops/Skap Attack etc… I’ve never seen so much hate and bias harbored towards 2 men this much

"My last rant for at least a month" 😂

2013 was the most frustrating year I've experienced as a Lakers fan. The fact that they passed on 11 time NBA champion coach, and the way that D'Antoni played Bryant to a point of injury. Glad that somebody is pointing the blame towards Lakers management which ever since 2013 for the most part was completely incompetent. As hard as it is to admit, because I'm a die hard Lakers fan, I don't see this organization having a resurgence, not until there are major structural changes from the top.

To be honest, I think it's time for the Lakers to do what the Knicks did and change their entire basketball philosophy. They just can't do the same thing that they used to back in the day because the smaller market teams have gotten smaller and the CBA a lot stricter; so, they're going to have to be creative.

I thought the tim mov and loul deng contract was atrocious until I realized it wasn’t that bad compared to Phillies ben Simmon contract 😅

The NBA has propped this franchise up for over 40 years. They won’t be stopping anytime soon/.

Wait so.. did Jeanie get to be the owner because ....of... nepotism???? Hmmm

1 hour gang 👇

#GuruBasketballKieroSays as a devoted Lakers fan myself, I fully support this video (2 minutes into watching it)

Very good video. You are right on every point. I am not a Lakers fan, but i respect them and the Celtics because of their history. I want these teams to be relevant. However, you didn't mention one crucial moment. The veto on Chris Paul trade. It was unacceptable and the league did that because of the small teams whining. The league itself helped screw its most glamorous teams

This is just the Celtics winning the NBA championship talking .

they still won a chip, since then, more than what most other teams can say

Jonny, Jerry West is the best general manager in the history of the national basketball Association. He helped build the showtime Lakers. He kept the showtime Lakers going. He got rid of the cancers named Van Exel and Ceballos. He picked up O’Neal. He picked up Bryant. Then he got Jackson. He set the Lakers up for success and to make sure that success was real… He allowed Phil Jackson, and Jeanie buss to push him out the door. His on court and off court success make him the single greatest Laker. (Greater than George Mikan. Greater than Elgin Baylor. Greater than Goodrich, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, O’Neal, Bryant and James. And don’t even get me started on self-deluded fools like J A Adande who think that chick Hearn is the greatest Laker. I moved to LA hearing of the great chicken stew and only found a sad, old, self aggrandizing, self righteous jabber mouth, who could harp on for 20 minutes about an “unforgivable” pass or the length of a player’s hair while only biding his time to begin talking about jello. Only mushburger is worse.) West, loved the Lakers, so deeply and passionately that he bought them the championships under Jackson by letting Jackson kick him out the door. West then built the Warriors dynasty. The Lakers demise began the day they rudely and unceremoniously got rid of their most loyal employee, insightful person and best evaluator of talent. Thank you for the video. I always appreciate your work.

Jerry West was the key to the Buss Success. When Jerry was let go the Laker Franchise died.

You are correct. When Jerry buss died, the Lakers died with him. 😢 In order for the Lakers to become a success again it all comes down to a better manager. The current GM just does not make very good decisions. Back in the jerry West days he would hustle to put a good team together. So they need a general manager of that capability.

Thank you Jonny! I feel bad for you and many Lakers fans who have to continue to witness a disillusioned franchise in sports. I’m still waiting for the day that the Buss family to realize that they messed up after their father passed away and sell the team. They need a new owner that runs it as a business and not a mom and pop shop by rebuilding their team and build through the draft like most teams and not keep star chasing free agents every year to bail them out to relevance rather than putting in the work to see the results.

People probably felt the same watching Duane Cooper, Antonio Harvey, and George Lynch, but then look what happened. You're the Lakers, you'll be fine.

The Lakers were blessed with great minds of Dr Buss and West working behind the scenes. May that franchise rot for the foreseeable future, especially with how they treated Jerry West.

dr. jerry buss, jerry west, kareem abdul-jabbar, magic johnson, pat riley, jamaal wilkes, james worthy, byron scott, michael cooper, a.c. green, mychal thompson, bob mcadoo, shaquille o'neal, kobe bryant, phil jackson, and derek fisher. these are just some of the names that made the lakers gods and an organization that worked. they were the standard bearers of what made the lakers great. you had people going to the forum and later the staple center to see them as they brought a city together no matter what race, creed, or social status is. you had jack nicholson and his buddy jerry adler sitting courtside while chatting with common folk. i'm an atlanta hawks fan first but i've always had love for the lakers during the showtime era because they kicked boston's ass every time and i hated the celtics as a kid. in fact, back in the day in school. any kid wearing a celtics t-shirt or jersey is going to get his ass kicked. if it was a lakers jersey, we leave them alone. there was a blueprint of how to run things but jeannie buss and lebum james have ruined it. now they're a laughing stock and with lebum putting his kid in the team when he has no business being in the pros with his poor skills. it's time for some new ownership and new management to get rid of the trash and bring in someone that has a love for the lakers and their history.

I love Jeanie Buss- but she needs to hire the right people. Thank goodness for LeBron and Clutch for at least making the Lakers competitive.

We'll made video Jonny.. The great Lakers years are over. What a shame too. They were the best franchise in the NBA.

Similar scenario with the Detroit Pistons. Once owner Bill Davidson passed away, and was sold to Tom Gores, the Pistons went downhill and haven’t really recovered since. The loss of the Detroit Shock, signing Josh Smith to an unnecessary contract, and countless losing seasons.

That Kobe 2 year $48million contract was also atrocious.

We're such a circus now. It's sad.

It’s because if you join the Lakers it’s championships or bust a lot players can’t handle that pressure

for the first time, i feel that clippers isn’t that bad any more.

Just except a tank look at the Celtics it’s ok to have a rough patch every couple of decades

Been a lakers fan longer than a lot of your fans have been alive, probably. I fking hate that lebron came to the lakers. Im so sick of people giving him EVERY SINGLE THING he wants and destroying my team. Its going to take the lakers a decade to come back from lebrons bullsht, once he finally retires.

That first team photo. Looks like being halfway to having 'They Live' glasses on.

For me the nail in the coffin was Magic drafting Lonzo Ball ahead of Tatum, De'Aaron Fox, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo. The disrespectful way The Lakers treated Jerry West didn't help either.

As a niners fan I get it...ownership by inheritance crushed that organization

The Lakers ends when Leflop entered.

It’s absolutely sad that even with the facts surrounding the Lakers’ downfall, casuals still blame LeBron. This team not only died with Jerry Buss, we’ve seen more lows in the last 10 years than we ever had in 60 years. If it wasn’t for the 2020 championship and that random WCF appearance in 2023, we’d probably be in the same tier as a team like the Hornets, Wizards and the Donald Sterling Clippers in terms of poverty rn.

Ive been a Lakers guy for 40 years. Only jersey i own is a Magic rookie jersey. This team is uninspiring and off the winning path.

Mozgov was Cavs` second best player in Finals-2015 and made 28+10 in game 4. He had couple solid seasons averaging almost double-double and 1+ blocks. He did 23+29 against GSW in 2014. So don`t say he`s known only for being "dunked"

The Knicks haven’t won since the 70s and they still have a large and loyal fanbase😂

don't disrespect Mozgov he scored 93 points and 29 rebounds in a game

As a Celtics fan I must say I love your content, level headed and beyond knowledgeable, the props and defense you gave to this years Celtics team and championship run shows how unbiased you are no matter your disdain for anything green just as I have for anything purple and gold🤣🤣🤣I think this is the start of a new era, the Lakers will always be the Lakers just like the Celtics will always be the Celtics, the history of those two will always be there and is part of the very fabric of the NBA. Having said that it may be a dark period ahead, which should help get rid of Pelinka which is holding the development of the future back. I’m sure you know of the Celtics dark period the double whammy of the death Len Bias and then Reggie Lewis combined with the retirement of the “Big 3” caused the dark period for my Celtics in the mid 90s through the mid 00’s and took that long to come out with the hiring of GM Danny Ainge, the development of Paul Pierce, and finally KG and Allen trades finally bringing us out of the doldrums.

I am a lifelong Laker Fan and I agree with you. I think they should try and lure Sam Presti from OKC. The Buss family does not have a lot of cash, and he knows how to manage that. Fire Pelinka, hire Presti and get out of Presti's way.

This is so hard to comprehend!!! I mean in these 11 years we won a championship and could've been contending for years, but that Westbrook trade really broke that momentum. Do you have a video on your thoughts about that trade ?

I disagree. The moment the Lakers went down the wrong path was when David Stern cancelled the Chris Paul trade in December 2011 and the Lakers did nothing to stop it. Jeanie Buss has even gone on record defending David Stern's decision. That is when the dominoes started falling: Lamar gone, Pau gone, Kobe breaks and the Lakers fall to the worst record in the conference. Then Jeanie pulls the plug on the rebuild after 56 games in 2017. Since then, they have won; 26, 35, 37, 52, 42, 33, 43, 47 games each regular season. That's known as mediocrity. As far as winning a title in 2020, that's one Finals appearance in the last 14 years. There are 15 teams in the Western Conference, that's average. The team can only return to glory if the Buss family sells the team.

Imagine winning a championship 4 years ago, making a conference finals only to lose to the eventual champs, and then losing in the first round to the same team that just won it and calling it the fall of the lakers.. also mozgovs most famous nba moment was scoring 93 points and grabbing 30 rebounds

The real icon for the Lakers was Chick Hearn not Bill Walton...3,700 straight games.

Bill walton was a icon for the lakers during kobe career. He was the lead spokemans during all our playoffs games besides home games. I didn't expect lakers to push the lebron narrative over Waltons passing. 2am overtime lakers playoffs games and walton calling till last seconds.

thank you, genuinely tired of certain lakers fans blaming everything on lebron as if the Lakers weren’t a terribly run org for YEARS until he got there.

I can't lie I hope they become a bottom tier team in the future as a blazers fan

Yell done video I'm not a lakers fan but I learn alot!

Having finished the entire video I got to say something spicy. When it comes to men's sports, don't let females run/own/inherit your sports team. Trust me. I'm a 49ers fan. We went 5-0 in the Superbowl under Eddie Debartolo Jr. Being forced to sell the team or give it to his sister, he gave it to his sister. Since that's happened we've gone 0-3 in the Superbowl.

I like that you mentioned that you're a Lakers fan and the son of a Lakers fan.

Historically the Lakers seem to be great for about every other decade. Dominant in the early 50's, very good in the mid to late 60's even though they didn't win any titles, of course they were awesome in the 80's, then from 2000 to 2010 they won 5 chips and went to the finals 7 times. It's hard to tell if they've truly fallen or they're just in another lull. The loss of Jerry Buss didn't help them any of course. But, outside of their current malaise, they haven't been too terrible. They're only 4 years removed from their last Title. I don't know. The future doesn't seem great but, that always changes.

@jonnyarnett Good morning Jonny, have you seen the 10-part series on Hulu title 'Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers?' It was a great documentary, I thought of you while watching it.

No one wants to play with LeBron. But the media will never say that. Lelakers will not make the playoffs this year

It started when they didn’t bring in Phil but it could’ve been recovered still. They put a dagger in their back when they brought in Lebron and gave him everything. There is a very dark age ahead.