The Lakers are 16-44 this season and are not likely to return to greatness anytime soon, but Lakers president Jeanie Buss does have a plan to get fans back into Staples Center next season.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Buss plans on making home games a celebration of Kobe Bryant's longevity and loyalty to the franchise. Bryant will be entering his 20th and perhaps final season with the Lakers.
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Per the L.A. Daily News, Buss said the organization is “talking about a bunch of different things” to honor Bryant at home games and promised, “we will make it special.”
Former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received a 1989 Rolls Royce in his final regular-season game during his 20th and final season with the Lakers, but Buss says Kobe's celebration will be different.
“We're not asking the NBA to celebrate Kobe,” Buss said. “With Kareem, it was endearing to watch every city do something special and thank him for all that. But that was clearly Kareem's last year. I don't know if we're going into this clearly knowing that this is Kobe's last year. Only Kobe can decide that.”
A 17-time All-Star, Bryant is the Lakers all-time leading scorer and has led the organization to five NBA titles.
This season, the Lakers will miss the NBA playoffs for the second consecutive year and just the seventh time in franchise history. Fed-up fans recently snapped a 320-game home sell-out streak, which dated back to the 2006-07 season.