USA Today via Reuters
Mar 27, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) walks off the court at the end of the second quarter of their game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 27, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) walks off the court at the end of the second quarter of their game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
After a three-game winning streak, the Los Angeles Lakers were soaring high. But a tragedy that recently struck the Lakers had even Laker legends mourning over it. The Los Angeles Lakers lost their superfan Norm Pattiz, which had LeBron James and Magic Johnson giving the late superfan a shout-out.
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Fans are an integral part of NBA games. They fill the arena with energy and electricity. Plus, we all know how it was to watch NBA games without fans cheering on their teams in the stands.
Magic Johnson and wife mourned the loss of Norm Pattiz
Games during the NBA bubble did lack a certain attraction. And a lot of that was due to the absence of fans from arenas. Many teams out there have super fans who attend every home game of their favorite team. They can be seen sitting courtside in full team apparel.
The Toronto Raptors have Nav Bhatia for that. Another famous superfan is Spike Lee for the New York Knicks. And for the Los Angeles Lakers, it was Norm Pattiz. Someone who stuck with the team during its high and low points.
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Magic Johnson went on Twitter to mourn the loss of their superfan. He tweeted, ?I?ll always remember Norm cheering on the Lakers from his floor seats & clapping on every possession & play with his program! RIP Sending my prayers to his wife Mary and entire family.?
I’ll always remember Norm cheering on the Lakers from his floor seats & clapping on every possession & play with his program! RIP🙏🏾Sending my prayers to his wife Mary and entire family.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 5, 2022
He also tweeted another message before the tweet above saying, ?Cookie & I are saddened to hear about the death of my long time friend & Lakers superfan fan Norm Pattiz.??
Cookie & I are saddened to hear about the death of my long time friend & Lakers superfan fan Norm Pattiz.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 5, 2022
Norm attended different generations of Laker games. He supported the Lakers from the Magic Johnson era to Kobe and Shaq?s dominance to the modern-day Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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Even LeBron James paid his respects to Norm
LeBron James also posted a picture of Norm Pattiz on the stories of his Instagram account. In the picture, Norm can be seen standing courtside with a blazer that had Kobe Bryant’s number eight and Shaquille O?Neal?s jersey number embedded into it. James captioned the image, ?Rest in paradise Norm.?
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Fans will always play a huge role in their respective teams, and when a team loses their superfan, it tends to hurt a bit more. Norm was solely responsible for starting ?Podcast One,? the official podcast for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Even Lakers GM Jeanie Buss recognized Pattiz?s presence and efforts for his home team. Norm was born in California and had been a hardcore Lakers fan.?
