That’s the way today’s headline reads for a certain set of fans the Lakers would like to win back: young people. Or Young people, perhaps. For the emoji set, the young kids whose Snapchat messages disappear most nights only a little faster than the Lakers chances at victory, Kobe Bryant is an old man and the best team in LA is the Clippers. (Always has been.) But that coveted demographic knows who Iggy Azalea is–and her boyfriend came back from injury last night to rejuvenate a wounded Lakers team (2-9) that sorely needs some good news. The boyfriend in question is the brash scorer Nick Young–self-styled as Swaggy P–playing his first game under a contract that will pay him $21.5 million over four years. Young looked good and swaggy in his rich debut.
Maybe it’s true that all the Lakers need is one more exceptional player on the floor. And maybe that player is Nick Young, who led the team in scoring during Kobe’s season-long convalescence last year. Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks last night 114-109. Still giving up too many points to contend nightly, but they shot extremely well. They took Swaggy’s lead–he shot 6-for-10. The old man led the Lakers with 28 points.
