Lakers Fans in Africa

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Danny Green is remembered fondly in Canada, when he played for the Raptors. Rewind to Game 6 against Golden State Warriors in 2019. Green played like a dream and we won the Championship. He was with Lakers briefly after that. 

Let’s start with general assumptions. What sport is popular in Brazil? What sport is popular in the Caribbean? What sport is popular in India and Pakistan? What sport is popular in the United Kingdom among the working class? How many sports are popular with the English royal class? What sport is popular in Africa? Soccer.

Countries like Nigeria even have betting shops that specialize in the English Premier League and some movie story lines are based on soccer rivalry  like Manchester United (Man-U) and Arsenal. Don’t let the soccer madness fool you. Africans also follow American basketball. Will Africa support LA Lakers in the Play Offs against Denver Nuggets? I’ll say yes for two lukewarm reasons.

Firstly, it’s the jersey. Movie directors love the  Lakers jersey so don’t be surprised if you see it in Nigerian movies, in its original form approved by the NBA or knockoffs from China. You also see it on Lagos streets and other cities.

I regard this reason as lukewarm because it might be because of marketing. The most popular NBA jersey in Africa used to be Chicago Bulls. Was it because of Michael Jordan? It’s a wild guess but it was a jersey to have a long time, until Lakers bumped it. Is LeBron James a factor? We don’t know.

My second lukewarm reason why I say Africa is rooting for Lakers is geography. Nigeria is the second most prolific film producing country in the world, after Bollywood. Therefore, they know  LA, whereas Denver? Is it in America?

Let the best team win.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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