The ESPY Awards!

The one and only awards show that truly matters!

For all of us sports fans, there is only one thing that can get us more excited and keep us more on the edge of our seats than a great game or a championship run, and that’s winning an award and being recognized for being the best. It’s not just an ordinary award; the athletes recognize where these awards come from. The ESPY Awards are voted on by the fans rather than an independent committee. This shows the dedication the fans have for their favorite teams and players even after their seasons are long over.

This year, the Lakers won the NBA Championship. With the completion of this achievement, the Lakers, players, and coaches were nominated for various awards. The players were invited to attend the ESPY Awards and many chose to be present for the great event. Players in attendance included our very own Sasha Vujacic, Kobe Bryant, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Josh Powell, Derek Fisher, and Shannon Brown. As the Lakers players entered the theater, they passed by many reporters on the red carpet. All of the Lakers seemed to have answered the same questions, mostly about how they are doing during the summer and what they think about the Lamar Odom situation.

The awards they all came to see were the Best Team award, Male Athlete of the Year award, Best NBA Player award, and Best Coach/Manager award.

Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant did not win the Male Athlete of the Year award which has gone to Tiger Woods for the past five years. This year’s award was won by Michael Phelps, for his amazing feats at the Summer Olympics collecting eight gold medals.

Additionally, Kobe was not successful in winning the award for Best NBA Player which went to Lebron James instead. Many analysts have laughed this one off and we must do the same. After all, the resume says it all in the end.

With two unsuccessful nominations half way through the night, the Lakers were bound to start winning soon. Phil Jackson was nominated for Best Coach/Manager and proudly won. I suppose that when you win ten NBA titles in 19 years, it’s no longer that difficult to get the fans’ vote for best coach!

Finally, the moment we had been waiting for us Sasha fans. It was time for the final award of the night: the Best Team award. As Stevie Wonder opened the envelope, my hands were getting sweaty and my pulse was becoming much higher. I was nervous. Finally, he said it, “The award for Best Team goes to… the Los Angeles Lakers!” I screamed. I applauded. I smiled!

The Lakers took the stage. The cameras zoomed in on Kobe Bryant as he gave the acceptance speech and Sasha stood directly over his right shoulder with an enormous smile.

It seemed like not even a second went by when Samuel L. Jackson took the stage yet again to conclude the show and thank all the fans for watching and voting.

Here’s to you Lakers fans: thank you for voting, thank you for supporting, and let’s get pumped up for an amazing summer followed by an even more incredible 2009-2010 NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers!