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The Los Angeles Lakers lost for the 59th time in 74 games on Monday night, falling to the Utah Jazz 123-75. The 48 point margin of defeat was tied for their largest margin of defeat in franchise history. It was not a great night for the purple and gold.
The season hasn't been much better. As has been noted over-and-over on this blog and elsewhere, the Lakers rank last in the league in defensive efficiency, giving up 109.6 points per 100 possessions. The team is almost as bad offensively, their 99 points per 100 possessions ranking second to last in the league for the year.
Legendary former Lakers point guard Magic Johnson has taken notice of his former outfit's struggles. Johnson, always a master of pointing out the obvious on Twitter, has apparently run the numbers and came away with a simple conclusion: that this is the worst season in the Lakers' long history:
I thought last season was bad because it was the worst in Lakers history. It looks like this season will be the worst in Lakers history.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 29, 2016
Johnson isn't wrong. If the Lakers don't win six of their last eight games, they will finish with the worst win-loss record in franchise history for a third consecutive season. Despite this futility, Magic was able to come up with one positive for Lakers fans:
The only good thing about this Lakers season is that we get a chance to say goodbye to Laker Great and Future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 29, 2016
Fans will have eight more games to say goodbye to Kobe on the court, but as Johnson demonstrates, the, ahem, magic of social media will likely keep him in fan's lives for far longer.
All stats per NBA.com. You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.