How Sweet the Sound - The Story of David "Amazing" Grace (2K23 MyCareer)

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Can the Lake Show Cap Off Their Season of Dominance?

This has been the best season that the Lakers organization has seen in a while. They picked up 50 wins in their first 54 games, making them the fastest team in history to do so. Finishing with 72 wins, this year’s Lakers squad have now surpassed the organization’s best record of 69 wins in a season (1971-72). They also broke the longest win streak in NBA history, set at 33 games by that same Laker team, finishing with 36 straight wins. The streak ran from Dec 16, 2022 to March 1, 2023. The other thing that 1971-72 Laker team accomplished that year? Their first championship since moving to Los Angeles. They had won 5 championships in Minnesota but had been in L. A. for 11 seasons before bringing home the Walter A. Brown Trophy.

Now, this season was not without its bumps and bruises. Injuries were plentiful across the league and Los Angeles was no exception. Players missed a handful of games here and there. Most notably, Anthony Davis who was out for most of February and half of March with an injury. With the timing of the injury, he only missed 14 games with the All-Star Game being played during his recovery time.

However, Los Angeles managed to thrive as a new star began to emerge. 20 year old, second round draft pick, David Grace, out of the University of Houston, came in like a beacon of hope for Los Angeles. In a time where the three point game seems to be dominating the league with players like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Trey Young, Grace was just what the doctor – and the Lakers - ordered. He had the best three point shooting percentage this season with 48%

“He has exceeded expectations like no other player I’ve seen,” said Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. This is Ham’s first season with the Lakers and his first stint as an NBA head coach. “He’s a real coachable player. He understands his role and plays it well. He wants to do more and is willing to do more, but not at the expense of the team.”

“That night AD went down was a defining moment for me,” said Grace. “You never want to see one of your brothers go down, but I have to say it changed everything. I was having an okay game. But once AD went down, I just got this look from Bron like, ‘you gotta tighten up’ and I accepted that task. I didn’t want to let him down.”

Grace dropped 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead Los Angeles to a win over a basement dwelling Thunder team. He impressed during that entire stretch, averaging 28 points per game, including a 40 point triple double in a win over Memphis.

Grace smiled at the memory. “My teammates kept getting me the ball. I appreciate them for that.”

LeBron James has seen Grace as an important piece of the Lakers puzzle and has said as such.

“This is what we need to win. When guys step up and when they make the right plays, we have to reward them for that. This is a team sport and it’s all about trust. They have to know that we trust them to make the right play. Everybody is gonna look to me or to AD or Russ to make certain plays or take certain shots and that works in our favor if we can pull players in one direction before swinging the ball in another. You got a guy like DG not shying away from big shots and big moments, now teams know, ‘we gotta guard this guy too.’ When you’ve got a lot of guys who are in it for each other and want to win, then everybody’s on the same page and it doesn’t matter who scores as long as we continue to make the right plays.”

The Lakers star player had a pretty huge season himself, breaking the record for the most career points scored. The record was broken in February in a win over Dallas and he’s finished this season with 38, 759 total points. We expect the record to be pushed past 41,000 points once it’s all said and done.

“It was an amazing feat,” said James. “It still feels surreal. I’ve had an amazing and pretty injury free career. That’s the only thing that’s really given me a remote chance at this. Just to be able to perform at a high level the way that I do night in and night out for the past 20 years. It’s something that I don’t take lightly and I’m blessed and honored to be able to still play this game.

The Lakers are gearing up for a post-season run that sees them as the heavy favorite to bring an 18th championship to Los Angeles to surpass the Boston Celtics for most titles won by an NBA team. That would truly make this the best season ever.

 

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These are the Lakers we like to see.

[Agent]

passing beantown for most NBA titles is a must on Grace's rookie resume.

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These are the Lakers we like to see.

It's winning time

passing beantown for most NBA titles is a must on Grace's rookie resume.

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