Photos: Top 10 Los Angeles Sports Moments of 2023
The 2023 year in sports saw more twists and turns than an episode of Succession. Here in Los Angeles, it was no different. The 2023 sports calendar brought us moments we'll never forget. From teams that overachieved, to teams that underachieved, the only major champions weren't even old enough to drive a car.
2023 brought us events we've never seen before, some we haven't seen in decades, and milestones for two of the greatest athletes to ever play the game.
Here are the top 10 best Los Angeles sports moments from the year 2023:
The sports world was stunned and saddened when Bronny James, son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, suffered cardiac arrest during at the University of Southern California back in July. Bronny was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and returned to the court to make his collegiate debut just four months later on December 10, 2023. As seen in this photo, his entire family was able to be in attendance for the heartwarming moment. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers spent most of the 2022-23 NBA season looking from the outside of the NBA Playoffs. However, when the calendar turned from 2022 to 2023, things also changed for the purple and gold. General Manager Rob Pelinka made a flurry of moves at the trade deadline, including trading away Russell Westbrook. He brought in more defense, length, athleticism, and three-point shooting. The Lakers got hot over the final 25 games of the season and made it into the NBA's play-in tournament. From there, they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves to secure the No. 7 seed in the western conference. Then they upset the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies in the first-round, and dethroned the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors in the semi-finals to advance to the Western Conference Finals. (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
When the $6 billion dollar SoFi Stadium project was announced in Inglewood back in 2016, Angelenos knew that big games would come with it. It started with the Super Bowl in 2022, and continued in 2023 when the house that Stan Kroenke built hosted their first NCAA National Championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the TCU Horned Frogs. Georgia won the game in a blowout to secure back-to-back national championships. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
It was a historic moment for another Los Angeles Lakers legend, when Pau Gasol had his No. 16 jersey retired at Crypto.com Arena on March 7, 2023. During an emotional retirement ceremony, Gasol thanked the late Kobe Bryant. The duo won two NBA Championships during their tenure with the Lake Show. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are no strangers to championships, so it should have come as no surprise when they won the inaugural NBA Cup after defeating the Indiana Pacers in the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 9th, 2023. The Lakers were a perfect 7-0 in tournament play and LeBron James took home the first ever tournament MVP award. A week later, the Lakers would hang a new In-Season Tournament banner at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Former National League MVP Award winner and three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, Clayton Kershaw, became just the third Dodgers pitcher to win at 200 games when he shutout the New York Mets 5-0, on April 18, 2023. Kershaw would finish the season surpassing Don Drysdale for second on the all-time Dodgers win list with 210. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Sports fans across the globe were simultaneously shocked and excited when Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest soccer player of all time announced he was moving to the United States and joining Inter Miami. The entire country was swept up by Messi Mania as the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner immediately led his new team to a Leagues Cup Championship. When the MLS regular season resumed, Messi traveled to Los Angeles to play the reigning MLS Cup Champion LAFC at BMO Stadium on September 3, 2023. It was a who's who of celebrities, A-listers, and athletes in attendance to see the G.O.A.T. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The City of Champions comes in all shapes and sizes. Even though none of Southern California's professional sports teams took home a title in 2023, one team of youngsters did. The members of the El Segundo Little League team went on a run for the ages as they advanced to Williamsport as the winners of the West region, won the United States Championship, and then went on to win the 2023 Little League World Series Championship by defeating Curacao 6-5 on a walk-off home run. The 11 and 12 year olds became the first winners from California since Huntington Beach in 2011, and even had a parade when they returned. (Photo by Joe Faraoni/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Nobody in Southern California had a better 2023 than Japanese baseball sensation Shoehei Ohtani. The year started with a championship for his home country of Japan in the World Baseball Classic back in March when he struck out Angels' teammate MikeTrout to end the game. The two-way player then went on to have a sensational season, finishing with a 3.14 ERA on the mound and 44 home runs at the plate. Ohtani went on to win his second unanimous American League MVP Award and then stunned the baseball world a few weeks later when he announced that he would joining cross-town rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 billion dollar contract, the largest contract by a professional athlete in North American sports history. The mostly deferred deal allowed the Dodgers to sign Ohtani's friend and countryman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto a few weeks later to complete the dream offseason for the Dodgers. (Photos by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images and Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
When Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the all-time NBA scoring mark on April 5, 1984, nobody ever thought that record would be broken. But somewhere in Akron, Ohio was a kid who believed he could do it. Nearly 40 years later, LeBron James surpassed that record when he scored his 38,387th point against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2023 at Crypto.com Arena. James not only broke the record at home, but he did it in a Lakers uniform with Abdul-Jabbar in attendance. After the historic fadeaway went through the net, the game was stopped and Abdul-Jabbar handed James a ball to commemorate the moment. James record may never be topped, but if it does, here's hoping its by a Laker. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
