As two of the more storied and revered professional sports franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers regularly cross paths, be it for promotional nights or players from one respective team supporting another.
Not long after he signed with the Lakers, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope attended the fifth annual Ping Pong 4 Purpose charity event, hosted by Clayton and Ellen Kershaw, at Dodger Stadium. That night Lakers president of basketball operations and Dodgers part-owner Magic Johnson received the inaugural Kershaw’s Challenge Impact Award.
Following a home game earlier this season, Caldwell-Pope donned Kershaw’s Dodgers jersey as he left the locker room at Staples Center. Similarly, Brook Lopez has been seen wearing a Dodgers cap on several occasions.
So it made sense that the Lakers had a small part in the Dodgers’ honoring of 1988 World Series hero Kirk Gibson on Opening Day. Ahead of the ceremonial first pitch, the team played a special video that began with a clip of Vin Scully’s call of Gibson’s dramatic home run, and it include appearances from actors and celebrities.
The Lakers were represented by Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, who each re-enacted Gibson’s double-fist pump after a passing sequence that ended on a Ball dunk. The Dodgers shared the full video on their Facebook page (Lakers featured at 4:09:
Over recent years the Lakers have sent head coach Luke Walton, Ball, Ingram and Metta World Peace, among others, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Walton was was the most-recent to do so, taking the honor last July.
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