Fighting Myths: Origin of The Machine
By Joe K
This has definitely been a slow offseason in Lakerland, especially in comparison to that of the Lakers’ crosstown counterparts, the Clippers. In order to talk about the Lakers, fans have been suggesting wild trade proposals
, following
the USA Basketball Team
The Kobe Bryant Beijing Show, and debating over the origin of Sasha Vujacic’s well-known nickname, The Machine.
As a big Sasha fan, I have become disgusted with the numerous Laker fans, who believe that Sasha dubbed himself “The Machine.” On the contrary, it was members of the Los Angeles media that gave Sasha his ever-so-popular nickname. A T.J. Simers article that ran in the Los Angeles Times back in March of 2008 examined the origin of “The Machine.”
"[Tried to] get to the bottom of who came up with the nickname Machine for the Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic. Checked with Lakers TV guy, Joel Meyers, who did a lot of hemming and hawing, well, more than usual. He said both he and his partner Stu Lantz came up with it together. Never took them for Siamese twins before. Apparently, neither did Lantz. “I came up with it,” Lantz said. “And then Joel ran with it. I used it once, and never again.”"
Whew! I hope that myth is now taken care of.