Kobe Bryant walks past fans during a game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 7, 2012.Jim Urquhart/Reuters
It used to be an event whenever the Los Angeles Lakers came to town, not just in Toronto but whatever city the NBA's glamour squad descended upon.
Over the years, so star laden was the group from Tinseltown that you only had to mention first names – Jerry, Wilt, Elgin, Kareem, Magic, Shaq and Kobe – to identify immediately many of the game's most-storied performers.
Even Phil – Phil Jackson, their old coach – was able to craft out a larger-than-life persona after winning five of his incredible 11 NBA titles from 2000 through 2010 when he guided the Lakers.
There were the showtime Lakers of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that dominated the NBA in the 1980s, winning five titles and competing in another four championships over a 12-year span.
The Lakers were in Toronto to play the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night.
Although the game was sold out – they always are these days in Toronto no matter the opponent – the visit by the Lakers was devoid of any of the snap, crackle or pop that always used to trail the iconic team.
The Lakers are decent in the early going this season, but nothing like the star-studded glory teams of old where L.A. was must-watch television if you did not have the pull to score a ticket to the game.
"The star power … it was like a three-ring circus," Toronto coach Dwane Casey recalled of the old Lakers dynasties.
"I think some of that is gone now but they're still a very talented team. It's not like they've fallen off the map."
They came close last year, winning just 17 times.
That was a franchise-low in what was the swan song for Kobe Bryant, a key ingredient along with Shaquille O'Neal on the dominant L.A. teams that went to the NBA final series four out of five seasons, winning the championship in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
After that, O'Neal moved on and the Lakers reloaded with another talented centre in Pau Gasol and made three successive final appearances, winning back-to-back rings in 2009 and 2010.
To Canadian basketball fans, Jose Calderon is perhaps the most well known of the current squad – and that's primarily because of the Spaniard's previous eight-year run with the Raptors.
While a game against the Lakers does not carry the same panache these days, the rich history of the franchise still makes a date against L.A. a cherished moment for opposing players.
DeMar DeRozan of the Raptors grew up in L.A. and was weaned on the game during the 1990s when the aftermath of the showtime Lakers was still smouldering and L.A. still played at the Great Western Forum.
And when fellow guard Kobe Bryant joined the Lakers in 1996, DeRozan's interest only deepened.
"Everybody was so into it," DeRozan said. "Being a kid, even just driving by the Forum was a big deal for me. We used to go to the games and sit in the top row. The tickets were only $7."
Alex McKechnie had a good vantage point to witness much of the Lakers juggernaut first hand, beginning in 1997 when the physical therapist from Vancouver started consulting for the Lakers.
In 2003, it turned into a full-time gig that lasted for seven years before he joined the Raptors as their director of sports science.
"The big thing I think, and it's very different today, is that we only had one bus when we travelled on the road and everybody was on that same bus," McKechnie recalled. "So when that bus pulled into an arena, it was very much a case of, 'The Lakers had arrived.' There was always a buzz, a cluster of TV reporters. We were always on TV, network television.
"The team would spill out of that bus one at a time, beginning with Phil every time. It was a real road show."
McKechnie said that the Lakers' wide appeal really struck him during one road trip when L.A. was heading to Detroit following a game in New Jersey.
"A snowstorm in New Jersey delayed the flight and by the time the team gets to the hotel in Detroit it's 4 o'clock in the morning," McKechnie said. "But when the bus pulls up to the front doors there's still a stack of people waiting outside in the freezing cold for autographs.
"It just blew my mind that so many people would be out there waiting for the Lakers to arrive."
McKechnie said the Lakers always enjoyed coming to Toronto to play, even with the hassle of clearing customs, which meant that the players had to carry their own luggage.
"I think one time Kobe had something like 12 bags with him, or something like that," McKechnie said with a laugh.