Today, the Los Angeles Lakers let the world know that an 11-game losing streak is their bottom line. In their final regular season game against the Denver Nuggets last year, the Lakers endured a string of defeats before finally beating the Nuggets on their 12th attempt. In Game 4 of the first-round series against defending champion Nuggets, they beat the Nuggets by 11 points to avoid being swept 4-0 in the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The Lakers will be intoxicated with victory tonight, but will wake up tomorrow morning to realize that they are still 1-3 down in the series and will head to Denver for Game 5, where they haven't won since January 2022. The odds of the Lakers winning this series are slim, but that hasn't stopped the team's supporters from believing the incredible is going to happen. Retired NBA star Richard Jefferson was one of them, and he knew he would get a shot out of it, but he still stood up for the Lakers.
Jefferson posted a hilarious video on his social accounts detailing his anticipation that the Lakers could win the series 4-3 with the help of a video from the black comedy film Dead Love starring Robin Williams and Edward Norton. In the video clip, Williams' character has a conversation with two journalists,
Reporter 1: "What does it feel like to be the most annoying person in America?"
Williams: "In a country full of Neanderthals, I take it as a fucking badge of honor!"
Reporter 2: "What about the rumors about your mental imbalance?"
Williams: "Who the hell X said?!"
In Jefferson's audio clip, he plays Williams, who is accused of suffering from a mental disorder.
The line between bravery and stupidity blurs, and supporting the Lakers is attacked. However, Jefferson is ready for criticism as he believes the Lakers will reverse the Nuggets and knock the defending champions out of the playoffs.
Can the Lakers be the first team to win in 152 attempts?
History is not on the Lakers' side. In fact, history shows that the Los Angeles Lakers have actually been eliminated. After losing Game 3, the Lakers became the 152nd team to trail 3-0 in the NBA playoff series (the Phoenix Suns became the 153rd team after scoring 17 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday). Of the 151 teams they faced the same test before, none managed to turn around and win. The team leading 3:0 so far is a perfect 151:0.
LeBron James and the Lakers have little chance of winning the championship, but the four-time MVP doesn't give up and he dares to challenge history. In the 2016 NBA Finals, James and the Cleveland Cavaliers fell behind 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors. Prior to that, the teams that led 3-1 in the championship series were all perfectly 32-0 records. But then LeBron James came along. The superstar and his teammates pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA history in their quest to win the Cavaliers' first NBA championship. The Lakers' task may seem impossible, but if there was one player in history who had the skills and experience to end a perfect winning streak, we would believe that he was the first person to achieve a "reverse sweep" in 152 attempts.