(Basketball news) The iconic Staples Center in Los Angeles, home to the L.A Lakers, LA Clippers, NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Women’s NBA’s Los Angeles Sparks will be renamed after being in operation for 22 years to Crypto.com Arena, as announced by arena owners Anschutz Entertainment Group last night. According to multiple reports, it is estimated that the deal would cost $700 million with Crypto.com paying the sum over a 20 year period, however, the financial terms of the deal are not yet made public.

Ever since it opened in 1999, the 20,000 seat venue was named the Staples Center after a 20 year naming rights agreement was reached with American office-supplies retail company Staples Inc. That will end when the Lakers take on the Brooklyn Nets at the NBA’s annual Christmas showcase this December. Headquartered in Singapore, Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency platform which was founded in 2016 and has already invested heavily in the sports landscape globally, signing sponsorship deals with the UFC, Formula 1, Paris Saint-Germain, NHL's Montreal Canadiens and also purchasing the Philadelphia 76ers' uniform sponsorship patch.

The future Crypto.com Arena has been the go-to venue for many major events, not just restricted to sports. The venue has hosted 19 Grammy Awards ceremonies, concerts, important public events such as the memorials of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson as well as three NBA All-Star Games and two NHL All-Star Games. In the first three years of operation, the venue saw the Lakers win three successive NBA Championships along with three more in the subsequent years. WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks have also won three WNBA titles at the Staples Center while the Kings have won two Stanley Cup Championships in 2012 and 2014 at the venue.

After being unveiled as the Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day, owners AEG will spend the next six months swapping the arena’s external signage for the 2022-2023 NBA, WNBA, NHL season. The venue is also said to be used for basketball events at the Olympics 2028 hosted in Los Angeles with Dan Beckerman, CEO of AEG saying “It’s the biggest of stages, we’re in the epicenter of the sports and entertainment world”.

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(Basketball news) Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol has retired from the sport after a long and successful career that has spanned 23 years. The 41 year old won two NBA Championships and three Olympic medals in his illustrious career. Speaking from an opera house in Barcelona, Gasol said “I'm going to retire from professional basketball. It's a difficult decision after so many years, but it's a decision that I really thought over." In attendance were his former teammates and family members, including his wife, his brother Marc and his young daughter.

Gasol made his professional debut in 1998 for Barca as a centre after which the 7 foot 1 inch player was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001. The Spaniard was selected in the All-Star team on six occasions and won the NBA title with the L.A Lakers in 2009 and 2010. He has also played for Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks and spent four months at Portland Trail Blazers despite not playing due to injury.

Gasol had a successful playing career for his country, winning the World Championship in 2006 and European titles in 2009, 2011 and 2015. He helped Spain win a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012 and guided his country to a bronze medal in 2016. Despite being injured for almost two years, Pau Gasol made a full recovery to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where Spain was eventually knocked out of the quarter-finals to eventual winners USA. 

While announcing his retirement, Gasol spoke about his battle to overcome the stress fracture he suffered on his left foot in 2019. "Not many doctors thought I'd be able to recover but I'm a person who likes challenges and I wanted to fight to do the improbable. I got to the point where I was relaxed about my career ending, I was at peace, but, when things went well, I took the decision to sign for Barcelona, which wasn't in my plans. I managed to win the league with the club where it all began and where I made my debut. It's been very special."

The 41 year old also paid tribute to the late Kobe Bryant with whom he won two NBA titles. “I'd have liked him to have been here today but sometimes life is unfair. He taught me to be a better competitor, a real winner, I considered him like an older brother.” 

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NBA Champions L.A Lakers are going through a rough patch. The absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis have resulted in four consecutive losses despite a spirited comeback attempt in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers. For the most part, the game was evenly fought with the return of Marc Gosol who was playmaking from the center while the efforts of Dennis Schröder, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope resulted in a total of 64 points. The ejection of Dwight Howard in the first quarter after bumping into Montrezl Harrell levelled the playing field for the two sides. The Lakers have a lot of positives to take despite the result, having been as much as 18 points down, they reduced the deficit to just three with less than a minute on the clock. Danny Green laid the final blow to his former team with 28 points in just 14 attempts and played an instrumental role in giving Philadelphia 76ers an 18 point lead. The Lakers currently have a 1.5 game lead over the Denver Nuggets and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, 8 am IST with the hope of getting back to winning ways without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The New Orleans Pelicans ended a seven game losing streak against the L.A Lakers who played their second consecutive game without LeBron James. The Lakers also missed former Pelicans forward Anthony Davis who has been absent in the last month due to a calf strain. Brandon Ingram scored 36 points while Zion Williamson scored 27 points and 9 rebounds. Williamson has now set a record of 20 + points in 21 straight games, the most for a player under the age of 21 in NBA history. Ingram on the other hand was responsible for 65.2% of his team’s points in the third quarter, a ruthless display against his former team. It’s looking like a rough stretch of games for the NBA Champions who will look to overturn their form despite the absence of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The trade deadline will end on March 25th with the Lakers facing Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

The Chesapeake Energy Arena witnessed a record that hadn’t been broken since the 1985-86 season when the Lakers won their 7th successive game on the road. The reigning champions looked dominant throughout in what can only be described as a complete performance. The 36 year old Lebron James stood out from the pack with 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, despite the fact that he was almost a decade older than most Thunder players, showing his quality with five out of eight successful attempts behind the arc. Anthony Davis got 18 points and 7 rebounds and has been leading the charge for the Lakers from Houston to Oklahoma. Montrezl Harrell also dropped a defensive masterclass with 21 points and 6 rebounds in a space of 25 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a spirited display for the Oklahoma City Thunder with 17 points, but couldn't influence the result that seemed destined for a Lakers win. The Los Angeles side will be facing the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center hoping to carry on their form and momentum to extend their winning streak to five.

The Spurs beat the NBA champions 118 - 109 to end their 4 game winning streak. San Antonio Spurs overcame their early season slump in Los Angeles with a dominant display that saw five players reach double figures. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with a season high 28 points while Demar DeRozan got 19 points and 8 assists. The NBA champions saw LeBron James score 27 points and Anthony Davis get 23 points and 10 rebounds but saw their contributions fall short as the Lakers eventually lost by 9 points. The Spurs meant business right from the start, with a nine point lead that set the tone of the entire game. Their dominance was evident with a 15 point lead late in the first quarter and an eventual 65 - 56 lead at half-time. The Lakers eventually fought back with a 15 - 5 run to tie the score and a Montrezl Harell’s putback from a Talen Horton-Tucker’s miss evened the score at 89 with 1:04 to go before the Spurs seized the win. The Lakers will no doubt consider this a wake up call to make amends, especially in defense while the Spurs would consider this win a motivation to push forward and set their sights on the 2021 NBA Playoffs.