silence is the enemy: Basketballogy -- The Science of Basketball (#4): Mr. Bigger Shot

In the 80's, when you say LA Lakers, the first person that comes to mind is Magic Johnson.

In the late 90's and early 2000's, it's Shaquille O'Neal. If you say LA Lakers today, Kobe Bryant would be the first person to pop up your mind and rightfully so as he is the GREATEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD TODAY (you can show this to that guy who took his talents to South Beach).

And then there's Pau Gasol who's showing signs of brilliance as of late.

When the Lakers win big, we often attribute it to the work of Kobe and Pau. Yes, the bench and the rest of the starting five always get credit as well, but every headline will say Kobe and/or Pau won the game.
But there's that little guy who is the voice of the team, the veteran leader who isn't much of a super mega star but when you need him to hit clutch shots, oh he'll hit 'em for you. Many have overlooked his contributions to the team. But not his best friend, Kobe. I'm talking about D-Fish, Derek Fisher y'all.
Fisher started out with the Lakers in 1996, being the other rookie that year besides Kobe. As Kobe developed into the super duper mega star that he is now, Fish himself developed a reputation that he can be counted to hit threes, twos, free throws, layups, anything at crunch time. Remember the 0.4-second shot he hit against San Antonio in 2004? The Spurs were up by one, Lakers ball with 0.4 seconds left in the game clock. The ball found itself in Fisher's hands, he caught it, turned, heaved, swish, Lakers win.
More recently, Fisher's heroics include the two clutch trifectas he hit against the Orlando Magic in Game 4 of the 2009 NBA Finals. The first forced overtime, the second sealed the Lakers' win.

They would then win the first of back-to-back NBA Championships the next game.
Then we have Fisher's late game heroics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals this year. He got the rebound, ran, ran, went glass for a layup, got fouled by Ray Allen (while getting hit as well by Kevin Garnett and Glenn Davis). Basket and-one. The three-point play then sealed the deal for the Lakers.
The five championships that Fisher has (the same number as Kobe) makes him one of the Lakers (and players in the entire NBA) with that many championships. This list includes Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and a few more. Pretty good company of greats, don't you think?
Much love for D-Fish.