2025 Dodgers destined for a historic 2001 Lakers-like run
The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi writes that the 2025 Dodgers are on a historical run at a championship that reminds him of the run that the 2001 Lakers had.
Welcome to The Morning Column at The Sporting Tribune. It’s the first part of our ampm series, where you can read Arash Markazi’s daily column in the a.m. and then listen to The Sporting Tribune Today in the p.m. The column, which can also be read on Yahoo Sports, and the radio show, which is hosted by Arash Markazi and Grant Mona, will hit on the top stories of the day in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii. The radio show airs every weeknight on KIRN 670 AM (95.5 FM HD3) in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and The Hawaii Sports Radio Network, 95.1 FM and 760 AM, in Hawaii. The show is also available as a podcast through Westwood One Sports and iHeartRadio.
LOS ANGELES – Six thoughts for Wednesday:
1. The banner stared back at me as I looked up at the rafters of Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night during the Lakers’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors. Right in the middle of the Lakers’ championship banners and retired jerseys that cover the north wall of the arena is the one for their 2000-01 championship.
I thought about that team as the Dodgers began to pick up steam towards the end of the regular season after winning the title the previous season, which was their first in a full season since 1988.
After winning the title in 2000 for the first time since 1988, the Lakers looked out of sorts for much of the following season while dealing with injuries. Derek Fisher missed 62 games while Kobe Bryant missed 14 games. But once they were healthy and had their starting unit of Bryant, Fisher, Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Fox and Horace Grant, they were unstoppable.
They won 15 of their last 20 games in the regular season, including their last eight straight going into the playoffs. Once they got to the postseason, they steamrolled all the way to a championship, compiling a 15-1 record with just one loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
What have the Dodgers done this year after dealing with injuries that placed Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow on the injured list for 330 combined days?
They won 15 of their last 20 games in the regular season, including their last five straight going into the playoffs. Once they got to the postseason, they steamrolled all the way to the World Series, compiling a 9-1 record with just one loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
It’s an eerily similar run and why I’m predicting the Dodgers will finish the postseason with a 13-1 record after sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays to win the World Series again. That’s not only my prediction now but what I told CBS’s Jim Hill during the NLCS.
Our Jim Hill caught up with @ArashMarkazi from @SportingTrib to get his thoughts on the Dodgers’ #Postseason run. Arash explains why he compares this team to the 2001 Lakers and shares a bold prediction for the rest of the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/0x1s04oW38
— Sports Central LA (@SportsCentralLA) October 17, 2025
2. The Dodgers didn’t just deal with injuries this season, they lead the major leagues for the second straight season in days on the injured list, which is a testament to their depth as they are on the cusp of becoming the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back World Series titles.
The Dodgers used the injured list 37 times for 2,585 days this season, according to Major League Baseball. A few of the Dodgers that are helping the Dodgers this postseason that were on the injured list this season include Sasaki (137 days), Blake Snell (121 days), Blake Treinen (102 days), Emmet Sheehan (92 days), Tyler Glasnow (72 days) and Clayton Kershaw (60 days).
In total, eight of the 11 pitchers on the Dodgers’ playoff roster have had stints on the IL and that doesn’t include Shohei Ohtani not pitching for the Dodgers late June after undergoing major surgery that kept him off the mound for nearly 22 months.
It’s why the regular season really doesn’t matter when trying to figure out the Dodgers’ place in history if they win the World Series. This team we are currently watching must be in the conversation for the best team ever.
3. If the Dodgers do end up winning the World Series in Los Angeles in Game 4 or 5, it would be the first time the Dodgers have won the World Series at Dodger Stadium since 1963 (the stadium opened in 1962) and only the second time the franchise has ever won the world title on their home field.
The Dodgers won the 1959 World Series in Comiskey Park in Chicago, they won the 1965 World Series at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota, the won the 1981 World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, they won the 1988 World Series at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, they won the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington and they won the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York.
The only time the Dodgers won the World Series on their home field was in 1963 when they swept the Yankees.
4. I’m not going to lie. I was pulling for a Dodgers-Mariners World Series. Why wouldn’t I? The West Coast World Series would have given the Dodgers home field advantage; it would have given the Mariners their first-ever trip to the World Series (they are still the only MLB team never to make it to a World series) and would have allowed more Dodgers fans to make the trip to see at least the first two games of the World Series. The cheapest roundtrip flight from Los Angeles to Toronto for the first two games of the World Series is $1,500 with most decent hotels going for at least $500 per night. And that’s not even factoring the cost of a ticket to the game.
The average get-in price for Games 1 and 2 of the World Series in Toronto is $875 while the average get-in price for Game 3, 4 and 5 in Los Angeles is $900. That’s the cheapest ticket to get in the door.
5. Say what you want about LeBron James and how the Lakers are ready to turn the page and move on from the soon-to-be 41-year-old superstar in his record 23rd season but this Lakers roster as currently constructed is not built to do much of anything without James.
I’m not saying they are a championship team when he returns next month but they aren’t a playoff team without him and that much was evident in the way the Lakers looked and played on opening night in their 119-109 loss to the Warriors where they outscored 19-4 to start the second half. Luka Doncic looked like one of the favorites to win the MVP (he’s currently in the top three at most sports books along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jocic) as he had 43 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists but he didn’t get much help elsewhere outside of Austin Reaves, who had 26 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. You never want to make too much out of the fiorst game of the season but it’s safe to say the Lakers aren’t going to do much this season without James returning and playing life his old self. Even then, the Lakers have to start thinking about building a contender around Doncic when James retires or leaves the Lakers, which could come as early as this this season.
6. The Super Bowl will likely be returning to Las Vegas in 2029 as the NFL is expected to announce that Super Bowl 63 will be played at Allegiant Stadium later this month. It would be Sin City’s second Super Bowl in a five-year span after hosting Super Bowl 58 in 2024 and confirm our earlier report that the league wanted to host the Super Bowl in Las Vegas regularly and include it in their rotation that also including sites in California, Florida and New Orleans.
During the Super Bowl in Las Vegas one league official went so far as to tell me, “Las Vegas is the perfect home for the Super Bowl.” What the league loves about Las Vegas is what many fans love about it as well. The footprint makes it one of the easiest Super Bowl cities to navigate. Most of the events surrounding the Super Bowl took place along the four-mile Las Vegas Strip. That means once you landed at Harry Reid International Airport and took a shuttle or rideshare to your hotel you could basically walk or take the monorail or tram to most of the events around town. Sure, you can also take a cab and get stuck in traffic, but you have options. Look for the Super Bowl to be in Las Vegas once every five or so years moving forward.