Should Phil get a Statue??

[Mamba Venom]

Staples Statue Center

Magic
Kareem
West
Hern
Phil
Kobe
Dwight (if things go right)

[kobeaki]

abso-fukking-lutely. /

[kobeaki]

I don't think we need to over play the statue thing, they've already cluttered the front of Staples. There's one side they haven't even touched, the statues should've been spread out better than they were.

They should've opted to use just head busts of the most meaningful Lakers, and placed them along the perimeter of the building.

where is that spot in la, that has all the columns and like a waterfall?

anyway we could as an org. put up 10 more statues justifiably ...we could or should arrange like a hallway into that side of staples...kinda like greek gods ...

[kobeaki]

would it be late 90's phil with mini fro and the really pronounced shoulders?

or the late oughts with the soulpatches(chin, forehead) and the gut with odd gait?

[The Laker Kid]

What if Blake Griffin or CP3 leads the Clips to several championships and they decide to make a statue to honor them? would they put them alongside the Laker statues?

[Sofa King]

What if Blake Griffin or CP3 leads the Clips to several championships...

[Kilroy]

Yes.

With respect to Magic, Riley, West, Chick, and the like


STAPLES IS THE HOUSE KOBE AND PHIL BUILT, NOT ANY OF THEM ... SO HELL YES

That's just ignorant...

There would be no Staples without Magic Riley West, and especially Chick...

Chick did more for the Lakers than any of them... He was the heart and soul of Lakers fans for decades. He was the one constantly marketable face of the franchise from the 60's to the 2000's... Not missing a game from 1965 to 2001 I might add... More than anyone else, with the exception of perhaps Jerry Buss, Chick Hearn represented the name on the front of the Jersey...
Through the good times and the bad times... Unlike many of those other greats.

Phil was here for a very short time in comparison. Was always threatening to leave, and wanted the Lakers to revolve around him rather than find his unique place in Lakers history.

Phil Jackson deserves some recognition, but to use Chick's statue as an excuse for Phil to get one, completely degrades Chick's contributions to this franchise.

It was appropriate that he get the first statue, and to me, all the rest including my favorite all time player, Magic's come second.

If you weren't around when Chick was calling games during Show-Time you probably don't get it... He made every good pass, every good shot, and every won game feel like the greatest basketball moment in history... But it didn't feel fake because he would call out everyone from Jerry West to Mitch to any player when they weren't performing like they should. He created a connection between you as a fan and the lakers and the game on the court, that has never been replaced. I've never felt like as much of a connected fan to the Lakers since his health started failing...

Be excited for all the players and coaches you want... Give them all the recognition they deserve, but never forget why those other examples of recognized greatness are there...

[Kilroy]

As for who gets the next statue... My vote goes to Dr Jerry Buss... Unfortunately, I don't think he's going to be around a whole lot longer, and I'd love to see him honored before he rides off into the sunset.

Kobe deservedly will get his, so there's no need to rush...

[USA]

IMO, Dr. Buss then Kobe (once he retires of course) are the only 2 deserving of statues at the moment.

[Josephpaul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJQKBu8X ... ata_player

Jerry said he could see shaq , baylor getting statue he said this when he got his statue . Great mini interview

[CodyB_]

The statues are getting creepy

[ShotimeLakers78]

I really am against Phil getting a statue. Yes, he coached us to 5 chips but should we give Riles a chip to? A statue in front of staples shouldn't be the equivalent of having one's jersey or number retired. It should be held for the true icons of a franchise.
Kareem
Magic
West
Kobe (eventually)
Gretzky (for what he did for LA hockey)

Shaq contributed to 3 but no way does he deserve a statue since he wasn't here for that long in context.
Baylor while amazing never won a chip nor did he stay part of the organization after retirement.
Phil IMO should get a statue in front of the United Center but not Staples.

[kblo247]

Phil coached the team to more titles than Riley

Phil is the winningest coach in Laker history

Phil coached more seasons for LA than Chicago

Phil unlike Riley actually didn't leave when **** got tough, he stuck around and turned Kobe and D leaguers into over 500 playoff teams consecutive years, then coached the youngest team in two decades at the time to b2b2b final and won 2 rings with them.

-----

And yes with all due respect to Magic and Chick (yes I remember him calling nve **** down the garden), the end of the day is that Kobe and Phil were a hotter ticket than Showtime ever was as Kobe is a bigger draw than Magic ever was as he had eclipsed every Laker in 05 playing a bum named Smush in that department for the franchise. When you look at Staples Center, that is the home court that Phil and Kobe made, that they protected, and the fact is they are responsible for half of the LA banners in that roof.

Phil taught Shaq how to win, he made Kobe into what he is development wise, he picked up a lotto team with moe talent than he had the next two years and made them competitive, and then he won more rings with LA. Hell for all the **** he gets people forget how much of a Laker he was when he missed game 4 of the 03 playoffs with a heart procure and then was back in game 5 stubbornly two days later

[Kilroy]

Phil got paid a hell of a lot to be here, and every time his contract was up he was 'retiring' and when Shaq threw a hissy fit and was traded, he went too and threw Kobe and the Lakers under the bus.

Phil has always been about Phil... Yes he's a great Coach and we won a lot under his leadership, but he wasn't really a Laker in the same way guys like Magic were. He was 'Phil Jackson, currently Head Coach of the Lakers.'

And with all due respect to Kobe, Phil, Shaq... Staples is there because Showtime was such a huge draw... It was just the arena Kobe, Phil, Shaq played in...

But it's the Legacy that Magic, Kareem, Worthy, West, Mitch, Chick, and Dr. Buss created for them... It's the House Showtime Built... And Magic Johnson was Showtime...

But Chick Hearn coined the phrase, created the Hype and Mystique... And he was our Lakers Fans' Heart and Soul for 40+ years... Before Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Shaq... Before Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Kareem... Before Mitch Kupchak... Before Wilt Chamberlain... Before the Buss Family... And long after West...

People need to realize, even non NBA fans would tune-in to Lakers games just to hear Chick call the games... My dad's football friends did all the time... I guarantee you there are Laker fans out there that became Lakers fans because of Chick Hearn... And it's a bigger number than you think...
You'd hear people in the park using Chick-isms to talk smack in pick-up games... For a lot of Lakers fans, Chick was any where from the 4th or 5th to the 2nd or 3rd biggest draw to the Lakers during showtime...

Chick Hearn created Showtime... He was the Lakers... And he was the Lakers for a lot longer than any of the greats... If the Forum wasn't the House Chick built, Staples certainly was...

I get that many current Lakers fans don't get the Chick thing... It'll likely never happen again... Big Sports franchises are global entities now... Regional Broadcasters just aren't that big a piece of the equation any more... But for those that weren't there, believe me, Chick was a huge reason the Lakers are what they are today...

[SportsandTacos]

phils statue would be guranteed if he was able to keep the kobe and shaq feud in check and lead that core to the 6/7 championships that everyone says they would have won