How many rings would Luka need to become the face of LA sports (over Ohtani)?

[TheGOATWill]

1, basketball reigns supreme in LA

Baseball is terrible but I'd swear 1 out of 3 people this weekend was wearing a dodgers hat or shirt. Could be the obvious blue is a great color on anybody.

But yeah, people in LA would start learning lite Slovenian with one Luka led title.

[TwitterFingers]

Do people still watch baseball?

Baseball and basketball are neck in neck in terms of popularity.

[ropjhk]

That’s going to be tough. Ohtani is clearly the best baseball player in the world and is an international superstar from a well populated nation.

That's not clear

He's always had the potential to be the best, but injuries have meant he's only been the most productive player in 1 of the last 4 years, and the other 3 are the same guy. Seems tough not to give best player in the league title to the other guy until Ohtani puts an entire year together again

2025: Judge
2024: Judge
2023: Ohtani
2022: Judge

Lol

Ohtani is a better player than Judge. This isn't really up for discussion.

I would say it is. I think Judge is the better hitter and that's enough to make it a discussion. I consider Ohtani to be a better player because he's also an amazing pitcher but if he had to completely give that up for the remainder of his career and be a full time DH then I would put Judge ahead of him.

[Iwasawitness]

That's not clear

He's always had the potential to be the best, but injuries have meant he's only been the most productive player in 1 of the last 4 years, and the other 3 are the same guy. Seems tough not to give best player in the league title to the other guy until Ohtani puts an entire year together again

2025: Judge
2024: Judge
2023: Ohtani
2022: Judge

Lol

Ohtani is a better player than Judge. This isn't really up for discussion.

I would say it is. I think Judge is the better hitter and that's enough to make it a discussion. I consider Ohtani to be a better player because he's also an amazing pitcher but if he had to completely give that up for the remainder of his career and be a full time DH then I would put Judge ahead of him.

The difference between judge and othani as hitters is extremely minimal. The difference comes down to not just ohtanis pitching, but his ability to steal bases as well. It's just not close.

[Jaykoolzboy]

Luka doesn't have the character/dominance/merit to be more popular than Ohtani in LA.

Shohei is probably one of the rarest talent ever in any major sports (his directly resemblance should be someone like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Leo Messi, Wayne Gretzky not Luka) , I consider him the best player ever in baseball if healthy.

He is capable of getting you (capable, doesn't mean he will ever achieve those achievement in one season)
15+ Wins
Low 2 ERA
250+ SO

50+ Home Runs
50+ Stolen Bases

For non baseball fan , it's hard to convert those stats into basketball, but someone that can give you

30PPG
13Rpg
7 APG
4 Blocks
3 Steals

While shooting 45% from 3s and playing DPOY type of defense. Again it's really comparing orange to apples as baseball is more of a team sports , 1 or 2 best players won't automatically convert into Ws or champions (Angles had both Ohtani and Trout for several years, they aint win anything).

Just 2 side notes to prove my claims

1. that 700 million dollars contract is now consider a bargain by pretty much all baseball fans. (Japan and international market already paid more than half of that contact in first year)

2. The Dodgers "One Piece Luffy" card (first 40K fans in Dodger stadium vs Pirates) has been selling over $500 per card for weeks now. This will never happen without Ohtani's presence in LA.

[hauntedcomputer]

Luka doesn't have the character/dominance/merit to be more popular than Ohtani in LA.

Shohei is probably one of the rarest talent ever in any major sports (his directly resemblance should be someone like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Leo Messi, Wayne Gretzky not Luka) , I consider him the best player ever in baseball if healthy.

2. The Dodgers "One Piece Luffy" card (first 40K fans in Dodger stadium vs Pirates) has been selling over $500 per card for weeks now. This will never happen without Ohtani's presence in LA.

Good lord. Babe Ruth went 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA and was pretty much done by age 23. He would easily have been a 300-game winner, probably 400, if he hadn't switched to the outfield full time. Despite the late start as a full-time hitter he knocked 714 home runs and hit .342.

Ohtani is already 31 years old and has 38 wins and 257 homers batting .281. Faster and a superior baserunner for sure, and 50/50 is as cool as Westbrook's trip dub season, and perhaps is best right now, but for a career he will be nowhere close to the legends, even if you knock out the steroid players. Recency bias is insane. He won't be a top 20 player, he just doesn't have enough games left.

Incidentally, a Babe Ruth card sold for $7.2 million.

[Godymas]

I don’t know if Luka has it in him to be more than a James Harden/Karl Malone of this era. Guy that does historic #s but gets no rings

[Edrees]

1 is enough

[Optms]

I don’t know if Luka has it in him to be more than a James Harden/Karl Malone of this era. Guy that does historic #s but gets no rings

Karl Malone was stopped by Jordan twice in the finals. In any other era, Malone is a champion. Comparing Luka to Harden is a disservice though. Harden is fools gold. Luka has already led a team to the Finals and has shown his playoff reliability. Harden is a joke.

[ropjhk]

Lol

Ohtani is a better player than Judge. This isn't really up for discussion.

I would say it is. I think Judge is the better hitter and that's enough to make it a discussion. I consider Ohtani to be a better player because he's also an amazing pitcher but if he had to completely give that up for the remainder of his career and be a full time DH then I would put Judge ahead of him.

The difference between judge and othani as hitters is extremely minimal. The difference comes down to not just ohtanis pitching, but his ability to steal bases as well. It's just not close.

The stolen bases may not be as big of an advantage as you might think. To be clear, what Ohtani did last season stealing 59 bases was incredible, but it was also a career outlier in a season where he didn't pitch at all. That same year Judge had 52 more walks than Ohtani and had a considerably higher on base percentage. Also Judge was providing solid work in RF last year.

So I don't agree that it's not close. I think you might be undervaluing Judge while simultaneously imagining Ohtani to be a top tier base runner and full time top tier pitcher all in the same season. That has never happened yet with Ohtani may never happen as sliding into second on a stolen base puts Ohtani at risk of injury, especially during seasons when he's pitching regularly.

[druggas]

I don’t know if Luka has it in him to be more than a James Harden/Karl Malone of this era. Guy that does historic #s but gets no rings

He's on the Lakers. Name one superstar that played for the Lakers, but never won a championship.

[Vae Victus]

Luka needs X-1 championships to be on par with Ohtani. Right now they’re on even footing popularity wise in LA. Basketball is just a way cooler sport overall than baseball and I say this even as an avid baseball fan.

[Doctor MJ]

Not talking all-time LA athletes (obviously Magic Johnson trumps the list there)...how many rings would Luka need to win to overtake Ohtani as the face of LA sports (current athletes only)?

So, as a born and raised Angeleno who lives here, I'll answer, but it may not be satisfying because this whole "face" thing isn't well defined.

When we talk about the "face" the NBA, we're generally not just talking about the best player, but as someone has a certain social standing in the NBA community and satellites. That's something that CAN exist for a city, but you don't necessarily get there by winning championships.

In the case of both athletes in question, we're talking about foreigners. Now, LA is extraordinarily multicultural so they'll welcome foreign athletes with open arms, but that doesn't mean that these guys will seep into the bones of the community the way guys like Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant did, and still are - you don't really stop being a local "face" just because you retire (or even pass away).

On the other hand, legendary Dodger Fernando Valenzuela (from Mexico) absolutely DID become such a face, and while his face-ness has faded with time, the indelible mark he had an turning the Angeleno Chicano community (that means Mexican-American for those who don't know) into the most loyal part of the fanbase is astonishing. Like, when you consider who got hurt by building Dodgers stadium at Chavez Ravine (poor Chicano communities - though that word wasn't ascendant yet), it's really something.

From this perspective then, I would say Ohtani is the one who has the better chance, and it's something I've been monitoring. Now, Ohtani is about 30 years late to be "the first great Asian baseball player of Los Angeles", because of Hideo Nomo. I would say that the Dodger organization recognized the effect that Valenzuela had had (dubbed "Fernandomania"), and specifically wanted to attract the Asian-American community of Los Angeles. And they did, but not to the same extent. The fact that Ohtani is a much greater player than Nomo, and has literal GOAT potential, means we could see some sea change in the Asian-Angeleno community.

Luka, on the other hand, doesn't really have that sort of avenue for face-dom, so I think he'll have to get there by becoming known by Angelenos AS an Angeleno, like Magic (Michigan) & Kobe (Pennsylvania) did. How do you convince an Angeleno you're an Angeleno? Well, there's no laid out formula, but one thing I expect will be something of a problem:

You're not really an Angeleno if you're just here for a job, and then you're going to leave in a few years.

It's possible Luka will fall in love with LA and stay here of course, but I think there will be a lot of things pulling him back to Slovenia (or at least back to Europe).

[Godymas]

I don’t know if Luka has it in him to be more than a James Harden/Karl Malone of this era. Guy that does historic #s but gets no rings

He's on the Lakers. Name one superstar that played for the Lakers, but never won a championship.

Elgin Baylor

wow that was easy

[ralphlovespizza]

Probably two championships—at least. And I say that because the Dodgers are clearly built to win multiple titles. They’re not stopping at just one.

On a different note, as a lifelong resident of Los Angeles and a die-hard Lakers fan, there’s a growing sentiment in the city: people are ready to move on from LeBron. Whether it’s at the barbershop or local bars, the general consensus among folks I talk to is the same.

LeBron pushed for the disastrous Westbrook trade, orchestrated the drafting of Bronny, and constantly puts out passive-aggressive statements and cryptic tweets to stir up drama. He’s also held the franchise hostage with these two-year player-option contracts like just like he did with Cleveland.

Compare that to the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani—who delivered a real championship to L.A., not the bubble ring LeBron holds up like a major achievement. Ohtani even deferred $680 million of his contract to help the team win now. Meanwhile, LeBron picks up his $50 million option and immediately complains that the roster isn’t good enough—year after year.

That’s why I’m excited about the prospect of new ownership. Unlike the Buss family—who gave LeBron too much power because the Lakers are their primary revenue stream—I don’t think Mark Walter is going to tolerate his BS. It’s clear LeBron didn’t see this coming. He probably assumed he could keep strong-arming the franchise into short-term deals because the Buss family needed the money.

He has 0 leverage now and watching him and Rich Paul floundering feels like watching a fish out of water.

I hope they buy him out or just let him walk at the end of the season.

BTW, total conspiracy theory here but I think the Luka trade was concocted with help from Adam Silver:

1-NBA ratings going into the toilet
2-Luka is traded to the Lakers for AD with help from Silver
3-Nico's body language at these press conferences gave the impression he really didn't believe the BS he was spouting(just my opinion)
4-Deal to buy Lakers was contingent on trade going thru
5-Mavs get compensated with #1 draft pick
6-$10 billion sale for the franchise raises the value of all other franchises(thinking it like comps in real estate) which helps the league as a whole and Silver

If this is all true, I expect more help for the Lakers coming from Silver in the future as a TY.

[bushybrah_]

Ohtani is better, but baseball isn’t as popular in LA so it doesn’t matter.

[D.Brasco]

0? I can't even name a current MLB player. I didn't know anyone under 50 was still watching.

Ignorance isn't a flex.

[ralphlovespizza]

Ohtani is better, but baseball isn’t as popular in LA so it doesn’t matter.

https://newsroom.lmu.edu/campusnews/lakers-overtake-dodgers-as-l-a-s-favorite-sports-team/

The Lakers have been evicted from their long-held position as the most popular sports team in town according to a new report by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

As part of the center’s Forecast LA, an annual economic forecast and public opinion poll, Los Angeles County residents were asked to pick their favorite pro sports team among the seven with “Los Angeles” in their name. The Dodgers came out on top, with 36 percent of the vote, with the Lakers nipping at their heels with 35 percent of the popular vote. That’s a big loss for the basketball team, which held their title as the most popular sports team in LA for over three years.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance

[Chokic]

That’s going to be tough. Ohtani is clearly the best baseball player in the world and is an international superstar from a well populated nation.

That's not clear

He's always had the potential to be the best, but injuries have meant he's only been the most productive player in 1 of the last 4 years, and the other 3 are the same guy. Seems tough not to give best player in the league title to the other guy until Ohtani puts an entire year together again

2025: Judge
2024: Judge
2023: Ohtani
2022: Judge

Comparing judge to ohtani is like comparing James Harden to Michael Jordan. Theyre not in the same league.

[Mephariel]

Probably two championships—at least. And I say that because the Dodgers are clearly built to win multiple titles. They’re not stopping at just one.

On a different note, as a lifelong resident of Los Angeles and a die-hard Lakers fan, there’s a growing sentiment in the city: people are ready to move on from LeBron. Whether it’s at the barbershop or local bars, the general consensus among folks I talk to is the same.

LeBron pushed for the disastrous Westbrook trade, orchestrated the drafting of Bronny, and constantly puts out passive-aggressive statements and cryptic tweets to stir up drama. He’s also held the franchise hostage with these two-year player-option contracts like just like he did with Cleveland.

Compare that to the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani—who delivered a real championship to L.A., not the bubble ring LeBron holds up like a major achievement. Ohtani even deferred $680 million of his contract to help the team win now. Meanwhile, LeBron picks up his $50 million option and immediately complains that the roster isn’t good enough—year after year.

That’s why I’m excited about the prospect of new ownership. Unlike the Buss family—who gave LeBron too much power because the Lakers are their primary revenue stream—I don’t think Mark Walter is going to tolerate his BS. It’s clear LeBron didn’t see this coming. He probably assumed he could keep strong-arming the franchise into short-term deals because the Buss family needed the money.

He has 0 leverage now and watching him and Rich Paul floundering feels like watching a fish out of water.

I hope they buy him out or just let him walk at the end of the season.

BTW, total conspiracy theory here but I think the Luka trade was concocted with help from Adam Silver:

1-NBA ratings going into the toilet
2-Luka is traded to the Lakers for AD with help from Silver
3-Nico's body language at these press conferences gave the impression he really didn't believe the BS he was spouting(just my opinion)
4-Deal to buy Lakers was contingent on trade going thru
5-Mavs get compensated with #1 draft pick
6-$10 billion sale for the franchise raises the value of all other franchises(thinking it like comps in real estate) which helps the league as a whole and Silver

If this is all true, I expect more help for the Lakers coming from Silver in the future as a TY.

A championship is a championship. Bubble or not.

Also, him not picking up $50 million wouldn't do much to help the Lakers.