Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s fame continues to grow beyond the diamond.
The All-Star slugger made his first postseason pitching debut in 2025, and he continues to be the frontrunner for the NL MVP race. Despite players like Kyle Schwarber being mentioned as a probable candidate, there’s no doubt that Ohtani will win by a landslide.
Recently, the two-way star appeared alongside Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Natalia Bryant. It turns out that Natalia was the creative director for the Los Angeles Lakers’ hype video. Ohtani, who’s a Lakers fan himself, went viral with Natalia and Brenda Song in the epic Lakers’ tribute clip. Shohei Ohtani’s appearance in the video was short, but he certainly sent Dodgers fans crazy. In the video, Ohtani sported a Los Angeles Lakers hat and winked at the camera, taking a swing with his bat.
Along with Ohtani, Natalia, and Brenda, several stars appeared in the video. Moroccan celebrity and fashion designer Jeff Hamilton was one among them. Lakers legend Magic Johnson and a small snippet of Kobe was the highlight. Natalia thanked the Lakers for the opportunity to work on the hype video.
Shohei Ohtani Is Not Having The Post-Season Of His Dreams
While Shohei Ohtani delighted many NBA fans with his recent appearance on the Lakers’ hype video, the baseball legend is not doing the same for his own MLB fans. Ohtani, who is in the postseason with his team, is clearly struggling as pointed out by numerous analysts and fans. In fact, general manager Dave Roberts himself seems to have lost in certain abilities of the baseball legend.
“His decision making hasn’t been good.” Dave Roberts said about Ohtani recently.
On another note, the Dodgers themselves are facing plenty of ire from their fans outside of the field. Many fans have felt that the LA-based team has been cowardly in their approach toward the immigration raids conducted by ICE and the Trump administration.
Ohtani’s team seems to be stuck at a crossroads right now. If the team does show favor to the sitting POTUS’ anti-immigration policies, they might get some federal favor but also risk being boycotted by generations of fans. On the other hand, if the team decides to demonstrate that they indeed have a spine and stand up for human rights, they might face the wrath of the Trump administration and MAGA supporters themselves. As the ICE raids continue across LA, fans will hope that it boils down to the latter.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
