Over the last year, Shohei Ohtani has become one of the biggest sports stars in the greater Los Angeles area. The slugger signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers almost a year ago to this date, and in his first season with the team, he led it to a World Series championship, its first in a full season since 1988.

The Southland loves winners, and the Los Angeles Lakers have done a fine job of honoring local championship-winning teams in other sports, whether it has been the Dodgers or the Los Angeles Rams after they claimed a Super Bowl championship in the 2021 season.

Ohtani was on hand at Crypto.com Arena with his wife Mamiko Tanaka, a former pro basketball player in Japan, to see the Lakers defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-98 on Sunday. Both were gifted custom Lakers jerseys with their names on them.

The reigning National League MVP is set to start pitching again in 2025 following surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow in September 2023. The hope is that he will once again be one of Major League Baseball’s best pitchers without losing any of his ability at the plate, and if he does, perhaps the Dodgers will repeat as world champions.