My Time Following Zubac with the Lakers
Man, thinking back about Ivica Zubac when he was wearing purple and gold takes me back. It wasn’t like some grand project, you know? It was just me, watching the games, trying to keep up with the young guys the Lakers had back then. I remember when they drafted him, second round pick, didn’t expect much, honestly. Just another big body.
But then you start watching. Night after night, well, maybe not every single night, life gets busy. But I caught a lot of those games. I’d get home from work, grab something quick to eat, and settle in. Sometimes the games were late, West Coast time and all that, but I’d try. I remember specifically watching him trying to figure things out on defense. He was huge, but sometimes looked a bit lost, you know? Young guy stuff.
My routine was pretty simple:
- Check the schedule.
- Make sure the TV was working.
- Try not to yell too loud and wake anyone up.
There were flashes, though. Moments where he’d get a good block or finish strong inside. I started paying more attention. You start rooting for these guys, especially the ones that aren’t superstars right away. You see the potential, maybe? Or you just like their effort. I remember telling my buddy, “Hey, this Zubac kid might actually be decent.” He’d usually just grunt or talk about LeBron, but I kept an eye on Zu.
This was around the time I was switching jobs, actually. Lots of uncertainty, interviews, that kind of stress. Watching the Lakers was a decent distraction. Seeing Zubac have a good game, like that one time he put up solid numbers, felt like a small win, even if it wasn’t mine. It’s funny how you connect with things like that when other parts of your life are chaotic.
Then came the trade. I remember seeing the news pop up on my phone. Zubac and Beasley for Muscala. I just stared at it for a bit. Muscala? Really? It felt weird. All that time watching him develop, those little moments of promise, and then poof, gone. For basically nothing, it felt like at the time. It wasn’t like losing a star player, but it was… disappointing? Yeah, that’s the word.
So, yeah, that was my “practice” with Lakers’ Ivica Zubac. Just watching, paying attention, getting a little invested in a young player’s journey. And then, like happens so often in sports, the journey takes a turn you don’t expect. It was just part of being a fan during that specific stretch of Lakers basketball. Nothing fancy, just watching the games and seeing what happened.
