For the fourth time in his NBA career, Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers will be receiving a ring.
Derek and the Lakers closed out the Finals in five games Sunday night, defeating the Orlando Magic, 99-86, on the road. Fish finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Afterward, as he spoke with Doris Burke of ESPN, he was overcome with the emotion of the moment.
It was the end to a remarkable road that began last June, with Derek and Los Angeles falling to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and vowing to themselves to return even stronger, and win a title.
THE DIFFERENCE
Henry Abbott of ESPN’s TrueHoop blog picked nine items to take away from this year’s NBA Finals. For any fan of Fish’s, No. 2 on that list should be framed:
Derek Fisher has been through some serious battles in Laker history — and has developed a special bond with Kobe Bryant. Yet when he missed shots in big numbers in early rounds of the playoffs, Laker faithful bailed on Derek Fisher in big numbers. But Phil Jackson didn’t. He stuck to Derek Fisher like James Carville stuck to the Clintons. Forum Blue and Gold reader Zephid writes: "Everyone under the sun was calling for Phil to bench Fisher and play more Shannon Brown (myself included). Tell me, does anyone honestly believe that anyone outside of Bryant could have made those two shots other than Fisher? Through all his struggles…the coaching still kept calling his number, sending him in during crunch time, sending him to battle when the games were on the line. And for their faith, they were rewarded with the most crucial victory of the season, delivered to us by one and only Derek Fisher."
CELEBRATING WITH KOBE
In the moments after the victory, Kobe Bryant, the Finals MVP, and Derek — the only two members of the Lakers championship teams from the start of the decade — shared a moment. As decribed by the Los Angeles Times:
When it was over, the Lakers hugged each other as a group.
Then Bryant found Derek Fisher, the point guard that he had won three NBA titles with, the guy he had respect for, and hugged him long and hard.
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Lakers finish off Magic for 15th NBA title (LA Times, June 14, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-magic15-2009jun15,0,3950569.story
Nine Things to Remember About the 2009 NBA Finals (TrueHoop, June 14, 2009)
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-41-86/Nine-Things-to-Remember-About-the-2009-NBA-Finals.html
Derek,
I just want to say how excited I am for you, your family, and the Laker organization. I have followed you through the years and your journey has not always been an easy one. But through the all hardships you still managed to remain strong in the face of adversity. You represent class, integrity, and hard work. You are a true professional in every sense of the word and I am so proud of what you and your team mates have accomplished! Continue to hold on to your faith because this is only the beginning of what God has in store for you! Again…CONGRATS on a 4th NBA championship!
wow!! wee!! i always believe that it was coming back to los angeles
Character Driven is a must recommended book. Toto Battung