Rumors

The 2026 Los Angeles Lakers will be a new era for the team, as they will look vastly different after a busy offseason that has been built around Luka Dončić, with hopes of winning an NBA title for the 18th time in franchise history. Robert Horry, who helped win three of the Lakers’ five titles in the 2000’s said he believes top free-agent acquisition Walker Kessler will be the difference-maker this season. “When you watch what Walker Kessler brings to the game, he’s so incredibly skilled and we haven’t had a big since AD that can block shots like that, pop out for threes,” Horry said. “So I just hope he stays healthy — Him missing damn near all season, how much rust has he developed?”

New York Post

Several Lakers legends weighed in on the stunning ownership upheaval surrounding one of sports’ most recognizable franchises, speaking exclusively with the California Post at the Harold & Carole Pump Foundation’s 26th Anniversary Celebrity Dinner on Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton. “I don’t think he [Dr. Jerry Buss] would be very happy with the state of the Lakers right now,” three-time Lakers champion Byron Scott said when asked about the family dispute.

New York Post

“That would be sad,” Horry told the California Post. “It would be strange and very, very sad.” Horry pointed beyond championships and banners to Jerry Buss’ lasting fingerprints on the NBA — the marriage of basketball and Hollywood, the Showtime Era, the Laker Girls and the Forum Club. “There are so many things like that that he brought to basketball that all these other organizations kind of piggybacked off of,” Horry said. “So for the Buss family not to be involved in some way would be such a sad thing.”

New York Post

Now they are approaching a place ruled by their Spurs forefathers. It’s no longer easy to say “this is the beginning of a dynasty” — just ask the Oklahoma City Thunder. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since Kevin Durant teamed up with Steph Curry with the Golden State Warriors last decade. However, the Spurs have a chance if they can start now. Robert Horry, who won championships with the Spurs in 2005 and 2007, sees an attitude in this team that reminds him of back then. “There’s levels to this because you look at the good teams, when they step on the court, they have an attitude that they’re the best,” Horry told The Athletic. “They have an attitude like, ‘Oh, we going to win this game.’ And some people say it’s cockiness, but I call it confidence, and it’s OK to be cocky and confident in sports because that’s what the best players are.”

New York Times

Part of that comes from some of those Spurs of old who are still lurking in the halls. Longtime coach Gregg Popovich has become significantly more present with the team in his “El Jefe” role, which has ranged from greeting the team at the airport to calling players after games to give them feedback. “I saw Pop right away when we landed,” Wembanyama said. “The emotion was really something I haven’t felt in a while. I don’t even know since when.” Horry sees it as Popovich’s new way of staying in the mix and putting his heart into the team. “This city is him, and he is this city,” Horry said. “And I think, for me, that’s his way of just being involved and having the opportunity to still put his thumbprint on the game.”

New York Times

Fox said their value doesn’t come from big speeches or demonstrative acts of “back in my day.” It’s little tidbits about a box out or an extra pass. These are small edges that add up to the edge. “Pop’s favorite saying when I was playing was, bring a little nasty to the game,” Horry said. “You think about their guards, they all play with a little nastiness. So you got to be aggressive. You got to have the mentality that you’re not going to get, I use the word punked, or you’re just going to go out and play hard and let whatever happens, happen.”

New York Times

Robert Horry: "I think with Reaves, he has to do what is best for him. Sometimes fans forget that. We want him to stay, but at the end of the day, his life. He has to do what is best for him. Let's say some team is going to offer you 180 million and the Lakers are going to offer you 120 million. That is 40 million dollars. I know Austin very well. He is not the sexiest guy so he is not going to get other off-court endorsements, so he has to make up that 40 million."

YouTube

Jorge Sierra: The only players to reach the conference semifinals 16 times: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Robert Horry Derek Fisher LEBRON JAMES A new record every other day.

x.com

Q. What do you think is the golden era of basketball? Robert Horry: The golden era is to me I think when Magic and Bird had that confrontation, then you had when Jordan took over, then you had Shaq and Kobe, and once the bigs left the league, that's when to me the golden era ends because you think about the great battles that you had against other bigs and then once the big kind of left the game it became the shooting era. I just think the golden era was a bunch of bigs and you had guards, you had bigs and everybody else can play. Well, don't get me wrong, I love I still love the NBA. I get frustrated with the NBA, but I still love it. And I just think because you love to see guys talented, the way they can move their bodies, where they can shoot, the things that they can do is amazing. One of my favorite guys is Ant-Man.

YouTube

Draymond Green: "“Robert Horry goes on the show and brings me up in the conversation. Maybe I think he wanted some attention, so everybody, let’s get Robert Horry the attention that he deserves. But I don’t know what I had to do with this. He said, ‘I always laugh because I’ve always seen certain players—I’m not going to call no names, cough, cough, Draymond Green—that say things to the refs and they let it slide. But when you say things to other players, there’s no pushing or shoving. You want to call a double tech on the players. Stop taking money out of players’ pockets.’ Robert Horry, I am in favor of not taking money out of players’ pockets. I am not sure how you ended up with my name in this statement, because it just doesn’t really fit the conversation. Number one, I don’t talk about people’s families.”

YouTube

Draymond Green: “I talk a lot of [expletive] on the basketball court. You can ask a lot of guys the things that I say. I don’t talk about guys’ families. I have, in one instance in my career, and it wasn’t about family relationship stuff. This guy, I thought, had went way over the edge, and gloves came off. But I’m not one to talk about families. I don’t do that. I think there are certain lines you don’t cross, because no one’s going to come on the court to talk about my family. That line won’t be crossed. So, respect Luka for standing up to that, because that’s not something you back down from.” “Certain things shouldn’t come on the basketball court, and family is one of them. I’m not a fan of family being mentioned on the basketball court, guys’ ladies being mentioned on the basketball court, guys’ kids being mentioned. That don’t work for me. I just don’t play those types of games.”

YouTube

NBA Courtside: Draymond Green on the Luka vs Goga beef: “Goga Bitadze said he would fu*k his whole family up. At some point I can’t stand for that, I got to stand up for myself. Robert Horry goes on the show and brings me up in the conversation. Maybe I think he wanted some attention. So, everybody let’s get give him the attention he deserves. But I don’t know what I had to do with this.” (Via @DraymondShow)

x.com

Lakers fans were not as fired up, but they were hot, booing when news of Adebayo’s 83 points was delivered inside Crypto.com Arena before the Lakers’ 120-106 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Honestly, it hurts,” said Los Angeles’ Erik Ortiz, who was 6 years old when Bryant had his 81-point night. “And it’s kind of messed up. All those free throws? No disrespect, but it didn’t feel earned.” “A disrespect to the game,” said Robert Horry, who played with Bryant in L.A. for seven seasons. “To me, don’t cheat the game. If you’re gonna play like that, that’s cheating the game.” “But,” Horry added, diplomatically, “scoring 83 points is still hard regardless if you cheat the game or not.”

Los Angeles Times

Lakers Daily: Robert Horry on LeBron James: "One of the best decoys in basketball"

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