For 20 years, Kobe Bryant has captivated the city of Los Angeles. From showing off his footwork, to winning championships, he has proven his love for the game through his willpower, vigor, and competitiveness. He played through injuries, and even showed the world that it is possible to challenge Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point record by scoring 81 points in the NBA. Many players in the professional leagues see Kobe as their Micheal Jordan, and on December 18th Kobe Bryant's two numbered jerseys, 8 and 24, will hang up at Staples Center with all other Laker Greats.

Many people saw Kobe's last game as a sign that the old Laker era is over, but in my opinion, hanging up his jersey this year is the real sign for one era ending and another starting for the Lakers.

The reason why the jersey retirement signals the start of the new era is because of all the young players for the Lakers. Names like Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle have started to emerge as legit players but out of all of them, one name stands out: Lonzo Ball. In the recent NBA Draft, the Lakers selected Lonzo Ball, and Ball's dad, LaVar Ball, has made many bold proclamations about how great his son is. According to this Los Angeles Times article, LaVar Ball stated that Lonzo is better than Steph Curry (who, by the way, was the NBA MVP in the 2015-16 regular season!)

Later on, in a CBSSports article, LaVar said he views Lonzo Ball as the best player in the world. “To me, Zo is the best player in the world,” LaVar says. Yes, even better than all-stars LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. “I don’t know if he can beat them one on one...but I know he can beat them 5 on 5." The Ball family even started their own company called the "Big Baller Brand," selling shirts for over $45. So you can plainly see that Lonzo Ball's fame, media-wise, is unmatched by his fellow players, largely in part by his dad, but Lonzo Ball (despite his dad's bold claims) does play well.

His recent performance against Lebron James was great, and Lebron, after the game, gave Lonzo some basketball tips. It's clear that as time goes on, Lonzo, whether he is good or bad, will continue to be on media sports pages, and with that means that the Lakers will still continue to make headlines, despite their mediocre record. This will nowadays make people pay attention to Lakers game instead of skipping it when it's aired on national programs like ESPN. With Kobe's jersey retiring and Lonzo's rising fame, this all shows that it could be a sign for a new era of Laker basketball.

New faces tend to make old players think that its almost time to retire. However, with Kobe's jersey hanging up in the rafters, and a new face of the Lakers, December 18th could show many people that a new era is brewing in the Los Angeles Lakers franchise.