Along with Eddie Johnson, former All-Star Los Angeles Lakers point guard Nick Van Exel comprised a post-Showtime, pre-Shaqobe LA core that, while never quite title contenders, nevertheless represented a fun, frisky playoff out. Johnson and Van Exel sort of threaded the needle between the two title eras, given that they suited up both with Magic Johnson (when he made a brief comeback as a reserve power forward in 1995-96) and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, but were not present for either championship run.
Van Exel recently sat down with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson of Bally Sports for a comprehensive look back at his playing days, as well as his currently role as an assistant coach on Quin Snyder's Atlanta Hawks staff.
During their conversation, talk eventually turned to O'Neal's early LA days. The Big Diesel ditched the Orlando Magic for LA when he inked a lucrative free agent contract in the summer of 1996. that same year, Bryant was drafted straight out of Lower Merion High School with the 13th pick. Van Exel would play alongside O'Neal and Bryant for two years, until Lakers GM Jerry West flipped him to the Denver Nuggets during the 1998 offseason for big man Tony Battie and the draft rights to reserve point guard Tyronn Lue.
"He was hungry! He was hungry to win a title," Van Exel noted. "But like I tell people all the time, we weren’t ready to win a title. We were all still young trying to figure it out, but he really wanted to win a title then really bad, you know?
There would be nights where he would come in after a game, after a bad night or if the officials were against him, (and) he’d come in tearing s--- off the bathroom stalls and … he just was competitive and he wanted to win! He wanted to win a title!"
O'Neal won his first of three consecutive Lakers titles during his 2000 league MVP season, with Van Exel long gone.
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