No, it is never, ever OK to root for the Celtics

Last week, we wondered aloud whether some Lakers fans would be torn on who to root for should the Warriors and Celtics meet in the NBA Finals. After a long weekend and a lengthy conversation with some fans, it appears the disappointments from last year just keep on coming.

Shocking as this might be that this somehow requires explanation: No, under absolutely zero circumstances whatsoever, it is not OK for any Lakers fan to root for the Boston Celtics. An alien civilization could come to earth and play that team and even as the fate of humanity rests in the balance, I would be team alien. Because I am a Lakers fan.

Maybe you’re concerned a championship and Finals MVP would bring Stephen Curry that much closer to Kobe Bryant’s legacy. This would make you a Kobe fan, not a Lakers fan.

Perhaps Curry checking those boxes means his fans might have further ammunition in the LeBron James-Curry rivalry. Cool! If you’re willing to put those interests above your hatred for the Celtics, you’re a LeBron fan, not a Lakers fan.

Maybe you’re a Magic Johnson fan and you’re nervous about Stephen Curry coming for the greatest point guard ever title. Well, you’re probably old, but what’s crazy here is even this hypothetical person likely has their priorities straight and would still prefer the Warriors win.

As Aaron Larsuel and I learned over the course of an hour-plus of this week’s “Anthony Irwin Show Live,” this is a generational issue where once again the kids are letting us down.

And hey, those are perfectly fine stances to take. The NBA has long been a star-driven league and fans of players above teams was likely the natural evolution of fandom as said stars jumped from team to team every few years. But what you cannot do is claim to be a true Lakers fan as you don Celtics green for the next couple weeks.

Normally, I’m not one to tell people how to be fans. In almost any other situation I just step aside and let people do their thing. But on this specific subject, there is a wrong answer, and it’s rooting for the Boston Celtics.

This week on the live edition of the “Anthony Irwin Show,” I was joined by Aaron Larsuel as we learned together about this new generation of “Lakers fans” who were failed by their parents.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.