Luke Walton :: Luuuuuuuuke!!!
When (OK, if) the 2004 NBA Finals are remembered five, 10 or 50 years down the road, Laker fans won’t find much worth treasuring. There was Game 2, and Kobe, and the shot…and that’s about it, right?
Well, not quite. There was Luke, too, without whom Kobe’s shot never gets a chance to matter and the Lakers are most likely on the wrong end of a broom.
Luke Walton probably shouldn’t have been on the roster at that point (at least not the active one), let alone affecting the outcome. This is the same Luke who was a second-round pick of the Lakers in ’03, which, statistically speaking, means he probably should’ve been in the USBL or Europe by now.
The same Luke who was a rookie on a team coached by Phil Jackson—and as we all know, rooks on Zen Master-coached teams usually pull Darko minutes if they’re lucky. And, maybe most significantly, the same Luke looking for burn on a roster stocked with (say it together now) Four Future Hall of Famers.
During the regular season, Luke got more run than even he probably expected, logging 10 mpg in 72 appearances. Then came the playoffs. The 6-8, 235-pound forward caught four DNP-CDs in the first three rounds, then sat and watched again as the Pistons rolled L.A. in Game 1. The Lakers’ meager production at the forward positions (11 points total in Game 1) meant Phil Jax had to try something, and something’s name was Luke.
He entered Game 2 late in the first quarter, and by the half he had 7 points (on 3 of 3 shooting), 5 assists (finding Shaq when most of his teammates couldn’t or wouldn’t) and 3 boards. The Lakers were up eight at the break, and Walton’s hustle and savvy on both ends had set the tone for the best basketball L.A. would play the whole series. He finished with 7, 8 and 5, added 2 blocks and committed no turnovers.
“I just needed somebody in there that could move the ball and had the ability to create things,” Jackson said afterward. “He held his own and was actually the player of the game for us tonight.” Phil’s Detroit counterpart agreed: “Luke Walton was phenomenal tonight,” Larry Brown said. “He gave them a huge lift.”
He wouldn’t do much else the rest of the series—at least he was consistent with his teammates—but for one night on the League’s brightest stage, Luke Walton was a difference maker. “I love stuff like this,” he said postgame. “I’ve always loved big games. I was just hoping I would get my chance.”
—RYAN JONES