City Celebrates Lakers' 15th NBA Championship

Published June 17, 2009 at 6:46 p.m.

The crowd at L.A. Live is reflected in the NBA Championship trophy, carried by the Lakers' Kobe Bryant...Photo by Eric Richardson.

The Los Angeles Lakers 2009 NBA Championship parade kicked off just after 11:20am this morning, passing a lively crowd at Staples Center before turning south down Figueroa toward a celebration to be held before a capacity crowd at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

At L.A. Live, the crowd watched on giant screens throughout the complex as the Lakers players boarded their double-decker buses moments before the parade began.

At the Coliseum, some fans spent the night outside the stadium to assure themselves good seats for the Championship celebration...The Lakers home court was transported to the Coliseum for the event.

A massive police presence along the route was intended to assure that there was no repeat of the disturbances that broke out after Sunday's title-clinching win in Orlando...18 people were arrested in incidents throughout the South Park area.

Despite the massive deployment, estimated to be near 2,000 officers, there was still a minor incident near the Coliseum when a group of people attempted to barge their way into the full stadium by crawling over a ticket booth...There were several arrests.

Early reports estimate the parade crowd at 150,000, with 90,000 fans inside the Coliseum.

Photo Gallery

By Eric Richardson.

Back | Read more at LA Downtown Blog