The Los Angeles Lakers have been an iconic team of the NBA for a long time. Back in the ’60s and early ’70s, the Lakers had a famous rivalry with the Boston Celtics. The rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain was very iconic back in the day. However, Bill Russell dominated the game as he helped the Celtics win 11 championships as a player in only 13 seasons. After the era of the Russell-Chamberlain rivalry, the Lakers fans saw the emergence of a new dominating generation. It started after Jerry Buss bought the franchise back in 1979. The new owner influenced the beginning of the ‘Showtime Era’ with legendary players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and so on.
In this new era of the Lakers in the 80s, the fans saw a new dynasty to dominate the game. The LA Lakers won five titles in the 80s. With the new rise of the LA side, the game of basketball became more entertaining, and the team gained a cult fan following. Currently, the Lakers are jointly the most successful team with their eternal rivals, the Boston Celtics, with 17 titles each. Hence, the Purple and Gold Army has fans all over the world. Now, in the LeBron James era, the fan following is ever-increasing. However, in a recent poll it showed two teams of the current era – LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors have the most annoying fans in the NBA.
Why Lakers And Warriors’ Fans Are The Most Annoying?
For these teams, perhaps there is always a price to pay to have players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry. According to Gambling.com, the Lakers fans are the most annoying, and next to them are the Warriors fans. As per this poll, the LA fans annoyed others on social media with over 12,000 posts. On the other hand, the Warriors and the New York Knicks fans are in second and third place on that poll.
The Warriors fanbase received over 10,810 posts last year, while the Knicks fanbase got 6,250 posts over the past year. However, there is another way to look at the poll that describes which team has the most annoying fanbase. Perhaps the other way to see it is that the Lakers have the biggest fan following, and the Warriors are right next to them. Moreover, this poll also suggested that the least annoying fanbase belongs to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers. These teams don’t attract much fanbase owing to their standings.
LA Fan Following Increased A Lot More During The Shaq-Kobe Era
As per the polls taken, fans loved it when the duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant dominated the game in the decade of the 2000s. Unlike O’Neal, Bryant went on to win five titles with the Lakers. Moreover, the popularity of Kobe Bryant as the next Michael Jordan also helped in the growth of the Lakers fan following. One common factor between Jordan’s Chicago Bulls side and Kobe Bryant’s LA side was Phil Jackson, the head coach.
But from 2018, the LA Lakers have the all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, leading the side. Along with Anthony Davis, King James was able to lead the LA side to win their 17th title in 2020. The Lakers have always managed to sign the top stars of the game. And it has become a tradition for them.
