You're welcome.

L a, um, set by picking the Clippers.

You see what I did there?

But the main thing that happened in L.

A is they got rid of the rotten owners and they brought in good ones.

Like recall what?

It was going back 10 years where Donald Sterling owned the Clippers.

And I know the Clippers didn't win, but like, look at the position they're in when my court owned the Dodgers, right?

When?

After the late, great Dr Jerry Buss, the greatest owner in the history of American professional team sports, by such a margin, it's embarrassing.

Passed away his family as his Children ran the team as he wanted, right.

And Jim Buss was running the Lakers and he wasn't doing a good enough job, and Jeannie finally replaced him.

Probably kept him on a year longer than she ought to have.

But it was her brother and it was her father's.

You know, one of his if not dying wishes a wish that he wanted to outlast him.

Um, and she replaced him and at since then that was three years ago.

Three years later, with Jeannie really calling the shots more fully, they win the championship.

They have organizations in L.

A.

Now from the top on down that air outstanding.

By the way, the Rams look like, if not Super Bowl contenders at the moment.

Certainly a team on the outskirts, right on the outskirts of that conversation and making moves.

The Chargers have a have a good young quarterback, but it starts at the top of all of these organizations, and we're seeing it bear fruit now.

It's a phenomenal thing that's happened in Los Angeles and for me to start out the year, uh, losing my man and somebody we all knew and loved and Kobe Bryant to be.

To this point, it's been nothing short of surreal.

You've got a situation where a nen credible in the tremendous laws devastated the city in the basketball world.

And then all of a sudden, you know, the Los Angeles Lakers win the championship after the covert 19 pandemic ravages the world, And on top of that, Jeanie Buss, the first female, ultimately ends up pulling it off and delivering a championship to the MBA.

We can't forget that in a phenomenal job she's done, Uh, Rob Pelinka has done Magic Johnson in the Los Angeles Lakers and will always mention him because that's where it all started.

And so you've got that going on.

And then for the Dodgers toe win it and then the Rams to be in the situation that they're in, uh, where they could potentially win a Super Bowl title this year, even though I don't think that will happen there in the mix their lives, Max would say, All of those things come, come.

You know, just it resonates.

I will tell you that as a guy covering sports for the last quarter century and particularly the MBA for nearly that long, uh, it's just a special thing.

It's a special feeling when the Lakers are champions on the Laker Zarella.

It just feels right at somebody who's gonna be spending a lot more time in Los Angeles because I got a lot of things going on.

Um, just being out there, I gotta tell you, there's a different buzz.

It's a a zgray tas that city is, and you know it better than me, both of you, because you actually lived out there.

Uh, the bottom line is, this great is that city is the kind of buzz that it has.

You know, the palm trees, the sunshine and all of that stuff is nice.

But when the Lakers win when the Lakers are relevant, it's just a better place to be.

I don't know.

You gotta be there, toe.

Understand what I'm saying?

Have an answer for why?

What?

I wanna hear from Ryan.

It's just special.

I'd like I'd like to have an answer for why?

Having lived there.

Go ahead, Ryan.

Yeah, well, I mean, you know, you guys have been around me a lot in y'all both know that I was not a Laker fan, but I'm the biggest.

I'm the biggest Kobe fan that I know personally, you know, And and it seems like, obviously, if you have loved the Lakers the way that people in L.

A do that you are obviously a Kobe fan, I think he's the greatest Laker off all time.

And so to fill that loss and to internalize that loss as losing a family member, as I'm sure many of them did, I think these these winds mean Mawr to L.

A.

Then they would mean to anybody else I know as I watch it.

The only thing that I continue to think about is every time Anthony Davis did something good, they spoke about Kobe Bryant.

When they when you show the Mamba uniforms, it was about Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and his tribute to Kobe Bryant afterwards, even the L A Dodgers showing so many times Kobe Bryant being on the first role supporting their team.

And so I think that's been something that's galvanized the silly the city of Los Angeles, but also the sports teams of Los Angeles.

And I'm going to say something that's away from just focusing on these teams.

Sports has been has been important to all of us this year, the opportunity to have something good to talk about, for us to get on here and be able to praise and to and to laugh and to talk about the positives off what some of these individuals are doing on the court and the way that they're affecting us all emotionally mentally off the court.

And so I think, where it is a great thing.

Toe watch LeBron James win and tow.

Watch Mookie Betts ascend to being in the conversation off Best baseball player living.

It's just also it's just good toe watch.

People have a good time.

It is great to watch people smile.

Great toe watch people celebrate and for sports to bring that to us.

So where, where it's great for L.

A.

And I think it's amazing that Kobe Bryant gets to be remembered every time these teams win it.

I just think it's good for all of us to see some happy in the world.

Let me say two things about L.

A sports.

The first addresses you.

Why does it feel different in L.

A.

When the Lakers air great that L.

A.

Is really a Siris of hardly connected suburbs.

Really, There's no great, you know, infrastructure in terms of public transportation or anything like that.

And while it's an extremely diverse city, it's not extremely integrated.

You can even take your kids to the park and you see all ethnic groups represented, But there are many.

Oftentimes, I noticed in their own little on, you know, clicks as opposed to New York, which is more of a melting pot, right, But you know what makes L.

A city, in my view, really, More than anything else, it's the Lakers.

It's the Dodgers.

That's with one place where everyone from all over town gets together in the same physical space with a common interest and are rooting for the same thing.

And eso sports makes L a city more than anything else.

That's one in terms of inside L.

A.

In terms of outside L.

A.

With L.

A.

Sports means you know what the number one export American export really is.

It's our culture.

We export our culture all throughout the world, and we do it through L.

A.

Through Hollywood through that industry that that's that's and so when sports are good there and there's a good feeling there.

Your these brands that these athletes have are amplified differently, you know, And and so both inside and outside.

L.

A.

Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.