Laker Nation

Press Conference is scheduled at 2:30PM PST, watch it at ESPNews. ESPN: The NBA has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday at a Los Angeles hotel, where Kobe Bryant is expected to be announced as winner of his first Most Valuable Player award. Neither NBA spokesman Mark Broussard nor the Lakers would discuss the subject of the news conference, although [...]

Update from Lakers.com: Injured Lakers Center Andrew Bynum will seek another opinion on the right knee that has caused him to sit out since mid-January. Team spokesman John Black informed the media that Bynum will seek the advice of Dr. Steven Gecha of Princeton, New Jersey. ESPN: Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who has been out since January with [...]

That’s the Utah way. No silver linings for dominating on the boards, no pats on the back for trying. Coach Jerry Sloan doesn’t complain about Bryant’s 23 free throws, either. L.A. Times: Are you sure we’re not still in Denver, Toto? The Utah Jazz, which was supposed to be much tougher than the Nuggets team the Lakers put to flight, [...]

Stern will make the official presentation to Lakers star next week. L.A. Times: It took 12 seasons, but Kobe Bryant has finally been selected the NBA’s most valuable player, The Times has learned. Sources familiar with the outcome who were not authorized to speak publicly about the award until the official announcement from the league said Commissioner David Stern will [...]

Yahoo! Sports: Derek Fisher still has a soft spot for the Utah Jazz. That being the case, he’d love nothing more than a date with his former team in the second round of the playoffs. “I’m pulling for them in terms of those being my guys, guys that I’m close to,” the Los Angeles Lakers’ point guard said after practice [...]

L.A. Times: Did Allen Iverson really compare Lakers fans to traditionally more vocal ones in Sacramento and Utah? Indeed he did, not long after the Nuggets where dropped by the Lakers in the first two games of their first-round series. He apparently expected to see only latte-sipping, script-writing spectators. He stood corrected. “You play here and you play in Utah, [...]

Is a good flopper or just very well at playing D? Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think! 82Games.com: Or the NBA’s toughest defender, depending on how you see these things. But according to the always entertaining 82game.com, Derek Fisher just outflopped Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut to take the league’s annual unofficial Vlade Divac Most Valuable Flopper award. [...]

General manager, a frequent target of criticism from fans, media and even his star player, just rolled with the punches, until one great trade revitalized the team and his reputation. L.A. Times: The first time Mitch Kupchak was mentioned for one of the most glamorous jobs in sports, general manager of the Lakers, he was standing at a urinal. An [...]

Ariza should be available during the second round. Will he be an impact off the bench? Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think! L.A. Times: It took a while, more than three months, but Trevor Ariza finally heard the magic medical words. The Lakers’ forward was cleared to begin some basketball-related activities and will be available to [...]

ESPN: Once again, the Denver Nuggets couldn’t keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check. Bryant scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 on Saturday. Game 4 is Monday night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of [...]

The TNT Inside the NBA crew shows Kobe Bryant their rendition of the viral Nike HyperDunk video. Funny stuff!

Sports Illustrated: The best way to describe Lamar Odom as a player might be to think of him as Kevin Garnett Lite. He isn’t as dominant as the Celtics’ star and doesn’t have the same defensive presence, but the overall effect he has on a game is unmistakable in a Garnett-like way. He just does whatever has to be done [...]

Thanks to David Viteri for e-mailing us this article that he found on the net. Again, if you find an article that you think deserves to be on TLN, please e-mail it to us at Articles@theLakersNation.com. AllHipHop.com: Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom hopes to celebrate two career milestones this summer: not only his first NBA championship, but also the [...]