markjay
05-30-2008, 02:51 PM
You may or may not want to hear from Lakers fans at this point, but I can't resist adding some positive words for the Spurs. Though I am a die-hard Lakers fan, the Spurs are the one other team in the NBA -- indeed in all of professional sports, outside the Southern California area -- that I most admire and respect. You have the greatest coach, the greatest players, and the greatest organization.
Your team, coach, and organization always conduct themselves with hard work, dedication, passion, commitment, and respect for fundamentals. The Spurs are a real model of what a professional team should be.
I knew the Lakers would not fully deserve the championship if we did not take the Spurs head on and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do so. Indeed, you could see from the way the Spurs and Lakers players interacted after the game how much mutual respect there is between these two teams.
Many people worry that the Spurs are getting old, but you have three magnificent stars that all have a number of great years left. I am confident (and a little fearful) that the Spurs will round out their team with a couple of solid younger players and be a formidable opponent for years to come.
I recognize that the Lakers got fortunate this year due to Ginobli's injuries. I know if he had been at full speed this would have been a much more difficult series, and I respect the fact that neither the Spurs nor their coach offered excuses because of that.
I apologize for Sasha's last-minute shot. I hope you will agree that he was not intentionally trying to be disrespectful. He's just a young guy who got carried away at the end of a tight game that was contested until just a few seconds previously. Anyway, both the Lakers and their fans criticized Sasha's shot and I hope he learned from that.
I know it's tough to lose. We've had our share of losses in recent years too. I'm looking forward to the Lakers and Spurs continuing their rivalry next year.
Your team, coach, and organization always conduct themselves with hard work, dedication, passion, commitment, and respect for fundamentals. The Spurs are a real model of what a professional team should be.
I knew the Lakers would not fully deserve the championship if we did not take the Spurs head on and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do so. Indeed, you could see from the way the Spurs and Lakers players interacted after the game how much mutual respect there is between these two teams.
Many people worry that the Spurs are getting old, but you have three magnificent stars that all have a number of great years left. I am confident (and a little fearful) that the Spurs will round out their team with a couple of solid younger players and be a formidable opponent for years to come.
I recognize that the Lakers got fortunate this year due to Ginobli's injuries. I know if he had been at full speed this would have been a much more difficult series, and I respect the fact that neither the Spurs nor their coach offered excuses because of that.
I apologize for Sasha's last-minute shot. I hope you will agree that he was not intentionally trying to be disrespectful. He's just a young guy who got carried away at the end of a tight game that was contested until just a few seconds previously. Anyway, both the Lakers and their fans criticized Sasha's shot and I hope he learned from that.
I know it's tough to lose. We've had our share of losses in recent years too. I'm looking forward to the Lakers and Spurs continuing their rivalry next year.