2023 in the world of sports has had more twists and turns than mere events. inheritance . It was no different here in Los Angeles. The 2023 sports calendar brought us moments we will never forget. From the overachieving teams to the underachieving teams, the major champions weren’t even old enough to drive a car.
2023 brought us things we’ve never seen before, things we haven’t seen in decades, and milestones for two of the greatest athletes of all time.
Here are the top 10 best Los Angeles sports moments of 2023.
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Honorable Mention: The 123rd U.S. Open Championship was held at Los Angeles Country Club in June, marking the return of the U.S. Open to Los Angeles for the first time in 75 years. Windham Clark (pictured his 18 holes in the final round) won the tournament. (Photo by Andrew Reddington/Getty Images)
2/11
Number 10 Bronny James returns to court after cardiac arrest
The sports world was stunned and saddened in July when Bronny James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, suffered cardiac arrest while attending the University of Southern California. Bronny was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and returned to the court just four months later to make his collegiate debut on December 10, 2023. His entire family was able to witness the heartwarming moment, as seen in this photo. (Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
3/11
No. 9: From play-in tournament to Western Conference finals
The Los Angeles Lakers spent the majority of the 2022-23 NBA season watching from the outside of the NBA Playoffs. But when the calendar changed from his 2022 to his 2023, things changed for the purple and gold, too. General manager Rob Pelinka made a flurry of moves at the trade deadline, including trading away Russell Westbrook. He brings more defense, length, athleticism and 3-point shooting. The Lakers went wild in the final 25 games of the season, clinching a spot in the NBA play-in tournament. From there, they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They then upset the second-place Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and defeated the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the semifinals to advance to the Western Conference Finals. (Photo by: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
4/11
No. 8: SoFi Stadium will host the first College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
When the $6 billion SoFi Stadium project was announced in Inglewood in 2016, Angelenos knew it would come with a big game. It started with the 2022 Super Bowl and continued in 2023 when the house that Stan Kroenke built hosted the first-ever NCAA National Championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and TCU Horned Frogs. Georgia State won in a close game and was crowned the national champion. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
5/11
7th place: Pau Gasol’s Lakers jersey hangs from the rafters
When Pau Gasol retired his No. 16 jersey at Crypto.com Arena on March 7, 2023, it was a historic moment for another Los Angeles Lakers legend. During an emotional retirement ceremony, Gasol expressed his gratitude to the late Kobe Bryant. The two won two NBA championships during their time at Lake Show. (Photo by Harry Howe/Getty Images)
6/11
No. 6: Lakers win first in-season tournament in Las Vegas
The Los Angeles Lakers are used to championships, so it was surprising that they won the inaugural NBA Cup by defeating the Indiana Pacers in the first-ever NBA in-season tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lakers finished with a perfect 7-0 record in tournament play, and LeBron James won his first-ever tournament MVP award. A week later, the Lakers hung a new in-season tournament banner at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
7/11
No. 5: Clayton Kershaw gets his 200th win.
Former National League MVP Award winner and three-time National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw pitched his 200th game with a 5-0 shutout of the New York Mets on April 18, 2023. He became the third Dodgers pitcher to win. Kershaw will finish. That season, he surpassed Don Drysdale for second place on the Dodgers with 210 wins. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
8/11
No. 4: Messimania comes to Los Angeles
Sports fans around the world were simultaneously shocked and excited when Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time, announced that he was moving to the United States to join Inter Miami. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner immediately led his new team to victory in the League Cup, and Messimania swept the country. Once the MLS regular season resumed, Messi traveled to Los Angeles to face reigning MLS Cup champions LAFC at BMO Stadium on September 3, 2023. Who were the celebrities, athletes and athletes who attended to see the GOAT? (Photo by Sean M. Huffey/Getty Images)
9/11
3rd place: El Segundo wins Little League World Series Championship
City of Champions comes in all shapes and sizes. None of Southern California’s professional sports teams won a title in 2023, but one young team did. Members of the El Segundo Little League team have had a long run, including advancing to Williamsport as West Division champions, winning the National Championship, and even defeating El Segundo to win the 2023 Little League World Series Championship. I kept running. Curacao made it 6-5 with a walk-off home run. The 11- and 12-year-olds were the first winners from California since Huntington Beach in 2011, and there was a parade upon their return home. (Photo by Joe Faraoni/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
10/11
2nd place: Shohei Otani’s year
No one in Southern California has spent 2023 better than Japanese baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani. This year began in March when his native Japan won the World Baseball Classic, and he struck out Angels teammate Mike Trout to end the game. The two-way player then had a sensational season, posting a 3.14 ERA on the mound and 44 home runs at the plate. Ohtani unanimously won his second American League MVP Award, and a few weeks later announced that he would sign the largest 10-year, $700 billion contract in history with the out-of-town rival Los Angeles Dodgers. It surprised me. This is the largest contract signed by a professional athlete in the history of North American sports. The mostly postponed deal allowed the Dodgers to sign Ohtani’s friend and countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto a few weeks later, completing a dream offseason for the Dodgers. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos, Getty Images and Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
11/11
No. 1: LeBron James overtakes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become NBA’s all-time leading scorer
When Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the NBA all-time scoring record on April 5, 1984, no one thought it would ever be broken. But somewhere in Akron, Ohio, there was a kid who believed he could do it. Nearly 40 years later, LeBron James surpassed that record by scoring his 38,387th point on February 7, 2023, against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena. Not only did James break the record at home, he did so in a Lakers uniform with Abdul-Jabbar in attendance. After the historic fadeaway hit the net, the game was stopped and Abdul-Jabbar handed James the ball to commemorate the moment. James’ record may never be broken, but if it is, let’s hope it’s by the Lakers. (Photo by Harry Howe/Getty Images)