Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Since pro athletes began earning millions of dollars for a season’s work, the idea of a “playoff bonus” seems almost quaint. The reward for making the playoffs, or even winning a series or two, numbers in the tens of thousands; but when you’re potentially making eight figures a year those bonuses hardly seem like a big deal.

To regular schmos, though, that cash can go a long way. And the Los Angeles Lakers players, with Kobe Bryant and Luke Walton leading the charge, made sure the bonuses from last season’s disappointing playoff run went into the hands of the Lakers that needed it most. Namely, two video coordinators who were laid off by the Lakers as soon as the lockout started.  Guess what they gave?

The Los Angeles Times has the scoop:

Kobe Bryant insisted on giving some of the team’s playoff bonus to two members of the Lakers’ video department whose contracts were not renewed after the season. Chris Bodaken and Patrick O’Keefe split about $65,000 of the Lakers’ playoff bonus.

Bodaken started with the Lakers as a ball boy in 1986 and spent the last 10 seasons as their director of video services. O’Keefe was the Lakers’ video coordinator for six seasons. They both hope to be re-hired by the team when the NBA lockout ends. For now, they are thankful for Bryant’s financial gesture.

“He always looks out for people who are lower on the totem pole,” O’Keefe said.

The article goes on to point out that Walton gave an undisclosed amount to the teams’ training staff, and that the Lakers have laid off 20 employees since the season ended. Most could be re-hired once the NBA lockout ends, but chalk up another 20 casualties of a lockout that shows no sign of ending.

(Story continues…)

WRITTEN BY Kelly Dwyer & FULL STORY HERE