On the recordJune 23, 2010
I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 2009-2010 National Basketball Association champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. In winning their 16th championship, and the 5th of this decade, the Lakers cemented their status as one of the most successful and storied franchises in the history of professional sports. Led by a dedicated management and coaching staff and with contributions from an outstanding roster of perennial all-stars, reliable veterans and exciting young players, the Lakers began their successful defense of their 2008-2009 championship by compiling the best regular season record in the Western Conference. During the playoffs, the Lakers stood tall against challengers to their title as they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz, and the Phoenix Suns en route to winning the Western Conference title. In the NBA finals, the Lakers triumphed against their archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in a fiercely contested seven-game series that gripped basketball fans from coast to coast and the world over. True to their reputation as a team of great resolve and determination, the Lakers overcame a deficit in the last quarter of the deciding game in order to ensure that the NBA championship trophy will reside in Los Angeles for at least another year.
