Those who maintain that Hawai’i “is not a basketball state” may have been surprised by the passionate, energetic scene at the sold-out Stan Sheriff Center late Sunday afternoon.
A mostly purple-and-gold clad crowd of 10,300 watched the Utah Jazz pull away from the Los Angeles Lakers, 90-71, in the NBA preseason opener for both teams. But the partisan majority of Lakers fans — who cheered especially loud for future Hall of Fame guard Kobe Bryant — did not seem to care about the final score and several hundred waited patiently and enthusiastically outside the arena’s security entrance for up to an hour after the game ended, just hoping to catch a glimpse of Bryant and other L.