The Los Angeles Lakers of the mid-1990s may not have had the championships of eras that came before and after, but there were a number of talented players on those squads who won a lot of games and made playoff runs. One of those was point guard Nick Van Exel, who was one of the most talented young players at his position during that time, but despite his talent and success he became most known for one infamous moment.
In 1998, the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Utah Jazz and during the final contest of the series, Van Exel broke one huddle by saying “1-2-3 Cancun.” And he recently spoke on how that came about, and that he feels the team used him as a scapegoat in that moment.
“When we play Utah in the playoffs we get down 3-0,” Van Exel said during an appearance on the Out The Mud podcast. “Like come on, man, ain’t nobody winning 3-0, we ain’t coming back. We see [players] now and we know, they basically saying ‘1-2-3 Cancun’ without saying ‘1-2-3 Cancun.’ Their body is saying it.
“But I was the cat on the team that, when s— was f—– up, I’m calling the team meeting like let’s get together. Let’s do whatever. I was the dude that was doing this with the team. And I knew, you always gotta have a scapegoat, so I was that scapegoat. So when I said the ‘1-2-3 Cancun’ everybody was like oh he don’t wanna…nah f—–, I’m still hooping. But we ain’t coming back and Cancun is around the corner and it’s off the chain. So s—, what the f— we wanna go back to Utah and lose 4-1, what the f—? It was a scapegoat.”
That offseason, Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets, and though the point guard admitted he was ready to move on, he was angry at being dealt to one of the worst teams in the NBA. And while it wasn’t a good look for Van Exel at the time, the “1-2-3 Cancun” chant continues to be used today to describe teams who have clearly given up on the season.
Perhaps that moment did give the Lakers a reason to move on, but the team clearly needed to make some changes in order to take that next step and win a championship. Regardless, Van Exel remains one of the truly under-appreciated guards of his era and one of the faces of the Lakers at that time.
Former Lakers guard Nick Van Exel discusses Kobe Bryant’s work ethic
Van Exel also played with a young Kobe Bryant on those Lakers teams and he had the highest praise for his work ethic, even as an 18-year old just entering the league.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
