Golf fever has swept over the Lakers.
On their recent road trip, the Lakers took a team trip to the golf course where the players — Austin, LeBron, Luka, Luke Kennard and Bronny — took on two teams of coaches.
“We played in Orlando, a little scramble match…and as expected we beat them really bad,” Austin joked after Friday’s win over the Nets. “So, it was fun. I rode in the cart with Luka for about five hours, so y’all can feel sorry for me. But it was fun. Just seeing how much these guys enjoy the game now, it actually means a lot to me because they gave me shit for forever about playing. So, I’m glad that they’re addicted.”
As the kind guy he is, Austin even let Luka win a hole for the players, something he later said was done simply to provide a confidence boost.
On the Lakers’ off-day on Saturday, Luka took to the golf course once again, another example of how much he’s enjoying golf now.
As much as it’s a fun hobby for the team to partake in together, it’s also become something of a team-bonding exercise as well, which is not easy to do in Los Angeles.
”It’s funny because when I first got in the NBA, there were a lot of guys and then nobody golfed for a long time,” head coach JJ Redick said. “Post-bubble, guys started getting back into it and it became more common…It’s a good team-bonding thing. For our team, it’s really hard in LA to, like, bond. ‘You live in Manhattan Beach, you live in Calabasas, you live in Westside.’ You’re hours away, sometimes, from your teammates.
“Finding tee times, being with each other for four hours where you can shoot the s--- and not have to be in a high-pressure moment or on a team bus and kind of be away from the facility, I think it’s great.”
The Lakers have had several team chemistry gatherings this season, including Luka hosting the team for a Porsche driving event. Golfing together is more informal, but fun all the same. And even better, it lets fans hear some more trash-talking stories as well.