Lakers to Celebrate Dodgers' World Series During Spurs Game with Betts, More Attending
The Los Angeles Dodgers will reportedly be celebrated for their second consecutive World Series championship during Wednesday night's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena in L.A.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, several key Dodgers players are expected to be in attendance, including shortstop Mookie Betts, catcher Will Smith, outfielder Teoscar Hernández and pitchers Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Evan Phillips.
All of those players helped the Dodgers become the first repeat World Series champions since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000, but none came through in the clutch more than Smith and Betts.
The 2025 World Series between the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays went to a decisive Game 7, and that winner-take-all contest required extra innings.
In the top of the 11th inning, Smith delivered the biggest hit of his life, hitting a go-ahead home run to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
Then, in the bottom of the 11th, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto induced a ground ball with runners on the corners and one out, and Betts turned it into a 6-3 double play to win the World Series.
A Dodgers celebration at a Lakers game will be fitting since Dodgers owner Mark Walter was approved last week to become the new majority owner of the Lakers.
The Lakers have a long way to go before adding another championship to Walter's résumé, but they are off to a hot start early in the 2025-26 regular season at 6-2.
Most impressively, that has been without the services of superstar LeBron James, who has yet to play this season due to sciatica.
On Wednesday, the Lakers will host one of only two Western Conference teams that have a better record than them this season in the 5-1 Spurs.
Led by early NBA MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs are looking like contenders after going six straight seasons without a playoff appearance, making them a massive challenge for the Lakers.
