This past week, a five-time NBA champion and Los Angeles Lakers great visited Manila for the first time in thirteen years. Filipino basketball fans were overjoyed to see him return. At the NBA Community Court in Mandaluyong, Derek Fisher was in town to headline the Jr. NBA Philippines Coaches Clinic. Esquire Philippines had a brief conversation with him following the camp.
Though the 6-foot-1 point guard from Little Rock, Arkansas, has had a tremendous NBA career, he never really imagined things would work out the way they did as a child. Many people believe that the 1996 NBA Draft was one of the best draft classes in NBA history year’s record number of rookies included well-known players like Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Ben Wallace, and Kobe Bryant who have since been inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.
He claims, “I grew up watching the Lakers play in the 1980s.” “Although I was a huge Magic Johnson fan, nothing in my early years really indicated that I would play for the Lakers someday.”
Fisher played for the Trojans in the Sun Belt Conference while attending the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Expectations in the Fisher household were moderated on draft night since, other from earning Player of the Year before going into the draft that same year, there wasn’t really much buzz around Fisher that would signal interest from a lot of clubs.
“I was in a room similar to this one at my Little Rock house, and I was unsure of whether my name would even be mentioned,” he remembers. “I didn’t think it was me when the commissioner started saying, ‘with the 24th pick,’ you know, did his thing, and he said the Derek part first because there was another player in the draft named Derek. I thus lost it when he spoke my last name. I sprang to my feet, screamed, and sobbed uncontrollably. I simply didn’t think that this seemingly impossible fantasy was getting closer to reality.
Together with Fisher and Bryant, another big name the Lakers acquired that season was Shaquille O’Neal. The three would go on to win their first championship for the franchise three seasons later.
“Getting a chance to play for the Lakers for so long, I’ve just never taken it for granted,” he says. “I’ve never wanted to treat it like I was entitled to it and it always felt like a gift. The fact that we were able to win so much and I was a part of so many great teams, that’s what makes it really special for me.”
Purple and Golden Moments
Fisher played 18 seasons in the league, 12 of which were with the Lakers. He would go on to play for four other teams throughout his career but nothing comes close to the success he had in Los Angeles. A three-peat in 2000-2002 and back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 cemented his place in franchise history. There are so many memorable highlights through the years as well. Who can forget Fisher’s Game 5 game-winner with 0.4 left on the clock against San Antonio in the 2004 Western Conference Finals?
There are countless unforgettable moments throughout the years, like when Fisher won Game 5 against San Antonio in the 2004 Western Conference Finals, but nothing compares to the success he experienced in Los Angeles. A three-peat in 2000–2002 and back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 solidified his place in the franchise’s history.
