In celebration of LGBTQIA+ History Month, the Los Angeles Lakers announced they will hold their fifth annual Pride Night on Friday, Oct. 13, when the team hosts the Golden State Warriors in the preseason at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers will celebrate this special event by hosting members of the local LGBTQIA+ community.
Since 2018, L.A.’s initiative to celebrate and honor those in the local and NBA community who work to advance awareness of LGBTQIA+ history has been a success.
The Lakers have orchestrated a tradition at their Pride celebrations since the inauguration of this event with the annual ‘Laces of Unity’ award. This year, the award will be presented to Naismith Hall of Famer Rick Welts by Jason Collins.
Additionally, every fan in attendance for the preseason game will receive a commemorative Lakers long-sleeve shirt:
OFFICIAL: In celebration of LGBTQIA+ History Month, the Lakers will hold their 5th annual Pride Night on Friday, Oct. 13 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/0DK3bCstmN
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 4, 2023
Welts was the former President and Chief Operation Officer of the Golden State Warriors and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2011, Welts became the highest-ranking executive in men’s professional sports who publicly said he was gay.
In addition to celebrating Welts, the Lakers will recognize LAMBDA Basketball, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Rainbow Labs, Brave Trails and the Sports Equality Foundation.
Also in attendance will be prominent members of the LGBTQIA+ community, plus members and supporters from LGBTQIA+ organizations. With the recent support and success of this event, this will presumably be a preseason tradition for many years to come.
Christian Wood’s commitment to playing defense impressing Darvin Ham in training camp
With training camp underway and preseason kicking off for the Lakers on Saturday, Oct. 7, head coach Darvin Ham has gotten to see the new pieces on roster in full effect.
Ham was a prominent figure in bringing Christian Wood to L.A. with the hope of bringing some more offensive firepower off the bench.
With Wood being one of the more intriguing prospects heading into the new season, it seems that it did not take long for him to make a good first impression on the defensive end, actually.
“Just his attention to detail,” Ham said about what stood out from Wood. “He wants to be elite defensively and he was one of the main voices you heard in pick-and-roll defense, in the breakdown, in the scrimmage.”
With defense being one of the question marks of Wood’s game, this is a positive sign for what’s to come with this being a redemption year for him.
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