"I remember mentioning that to Kobe once and he just laughed," Bodaken said. "The concept of not watching something on film was so foreign to him."
The Lakers originally began using game footage to scout teams in the late 1960s, splicing together plays on 8-mm or 16-mm film, according to longtime Lakers official Bill Bertka. Sessions were short, perhaps only five or six minutes, and if the film projector broke, a common occurrence back then, "the players would go bananas," he said.
Bodaken and O'Keefe cull their videos from a vast menu of programming. The NBA provides a television package so the Lakers can download any game. The Lakers' video staff members will program games -- sometimes a week in advance -- on the team's video systems at Staples Center or the Lakers' El Segundo practice facility.
On Monday night, they recorded Denver vs. Atlanta, Orlando-Detroit, Chicago-New Jersey, Memphis-Minnesota, Phoenix-Oklahoma City, Washington-Houston, Philadelphia-Utah, and Toronto-Golden State.
Bodaken, who also scouts for the Lakers and spent one season as an assistant coach, boasts about the football conquests of his alma mater, USC. O'Keefe is a former student manager for the Indiana University men's basketball team.
Their work space at Staples Center is just large enough to accommodate two desks and three steel racks of recording equipment.
The room is next to Jackson's office, allowing for easy access if he has a particular video request.
When the Lakers are on the road, either O'Keefe or Bodaken travels with them.
When the Lakers are at home, the video staff typically arrives at the team's training facility before 7 a.m. Morning is crunch time because videos must be ready by the time practice starts at 10 a.m. Also, edited DVDs of upcoming opponents must be prepared for coaches so that future game plans can be formulated.
Game days are particularly long. Bodaken and O'Keefe stay at Staples Center until 11 p.m., awaiting word from coaches on what must be prepared for the next day. Before tipoff, the opponent's most recent game is always showing on a large TV in the locker room as players arrive 90 minutes before a game. Few of them watch it, preferring instead to shoot on the court or relax in an adjacent players' lounge.
Bryant, however, is often in the trainer's room watching his DVD player while his ankles are taped.
Says O'Keefe: "It's like a straight-A student who still goes to all the extra study sessions."
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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com
broderick.turner@latimes.com
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Up next
LAKERS VS. UTAH
Friday at Staples Center
7:30 p.m., FS West
