My late friend, Walter Barth, used to have something I was certain was the coolest thing I had ever seen. In fact, Walter, and my friend Sheriff Tiano were the only two people I had ever witnessed have one.

 

If you looked, and it did not take much to notice, it was there to be seen. Both men had 2010 Final Four rings courtesy of the West Virginia University’s men’s basketball program. This was not something that you got via purchase; rather you had to be given one for doing something to or for the program.

 

I was pretty sure until recently I would never see anything quite as cool. I was wrong.

 

Just a few months ago, Bridgeport native Chris Cunanan got a piece of jewelry I am fairly certain was one of kind on the non-paid for front. The 2000 Bridgeport High School graduate is the proud owner of a 2019-20 Lakers NBA Championship ring.

 

Seriously. Cunanan did not negotiate a deal with Chumlee at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Nope, as mentioned above he did not pay a dime for it. He got it the old-fashioned way. Chris Cunanan earned it.

 

For those that did not know, Cunanan has been a member of the Los Angeles Lakers staff since June of 2019. He is approaching the two-year anniversary of being involved with one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports.

 

The thing is it is not his first professional sports rodeo. He has worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Washington Capitals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Los Angeles Sparks and just prior to his stint with the Lakers worked across the hall for the Los Angeles Clippers.

 

Cunanan, who holds an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University and also earned a graduate school diploma from Georgetown, earned his ring by more than just being a staff member. Cunanan was a staff member for the Lakers who spent 94 days in the Orlando NBA “Bubble” to get in the past season and avoid COVID-19.

 

“Being in the bubble was a different experience for everyone that I’ve talked to that experienced. For me, it was incredible,” said Cunanan, who said he was COVID tested every day. “For me being a basketball junkie, I was ready to stay another 94 days and be happy with it. I guess it also helps when your team is the champion.”

 

It also helps when you enjoy who you are interacting with. Cunanan said he went down knowing about 10 people fairly well but left with a much higher number.

 

“After leaving, the number of relationships were infinite with different staff members from different teams and people working in the NBA,” said Cunanan. “I was fortunate to be one of the people inside.”

 

Fortunate does not equate to being easy. Although enjoying his time, it proved a tough transition.

 

“It took a month to get used to, and that came after quarantining for a week,” said Cunanan. “I learned the lifestyle of living on a campus.”

 

Campus, in this case, was staying at the Coronado Springs Resort at Disney in Orlando. From there, Cunanan and others would bus ride to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex where the games were played.

 

“It was 100 percent surreal because I’ve been in sold out arenas for more than a decade with the best athletes in the world performing,” said Cunanan. “The first few games I realized there were less than 200 people total, and that included players and coaches. I’d sit with colleagues and take it in from a perspective of a seat with a price tag that you not only can’t afford because it’s a $10,000 seat but couldn’t get if you could.”

 

Cunanan was not there to watch the games. His role was as a screen producer. He was one of four Lakers staff members – the same number from all 22 teams represented – and by the times the NBA Finals rolled around there was only Cunanan and a friend from the Wizards.

 

“She was able to stay because there were no conflicts with what she was doing with any team left,” said Cunanan.

 

The role primarily had him producing the virtual fans you saw in the Bubble and you actually still see at some events today. At Lakers games, during bigger moments or breaks between quarters, Cunanan would change to pre-produced video footage of players to help present more energy in a game setting where that is usually never an issue.

 

The Lakers rarely had an issue as they rolled to a title. While happy to be part of it, Cunanan never knew if he was going to get a ring.

 

“We had heard in the past from staff members who were part to of championship teams you may get a ring. It wasn’t long after the Lakers won the title that we were told that staff members would be receiving a ring,” said Cunanan.

 

Unlike the players, there was no formal ceremony. Cunanan picked up his ring at the office. It did not change the impact.

 

“I should have recorded the smile I had from that entire day. I think I wore it the entire day and evening,” said Cunanan. “I was thinking about being a 12-year-old Lakers fan in Bridgeport and going back I would have never believed I would be sitting in Los Angeles all these years later with a championship ring.”

 

Cunanan is back with the Lakers. This year, he has been working back at the Staples Center even though there has yet to be attendance. His capacity is mostly the same.

 

“I’m the control room producer handling content on the video boards with a secondary role of overall game producer,” said Cunanan, who visited West Virginia earlier this month during the NBA All-Star break. “It is still pretty exciting every single night.”

 

Cunanan said he breaks the ring out occasionally. He had it during his most recent visit back to the Mountain State where several of his friends wanted to see it. However, there was one group he wanted to see it more than anyone.

 

“Showing my parents (Dr. Robert and Zenny Cunanan) was one of the most special things I have ever done,” said Cunanan.

 

There was one more thing that proved to be just as special as that moment where he showed his ring – with his family name inscribed on it – to his mother and father.

 

“The Lakers allowed you to purchase a ring if you wanted for a family member. I purchased one for my father,” said Cunanan. “That was a big deal to me, and he loved it.”

 

Not surprising. The Class of 2000 BHS representative is doing his best in the bright lights of the NBA. He is doing his job, being a professional around the greatest of professionals, and planning on what he has already planned – making a career out of it.

 

“I hope to do this for a while and have no plans to get out of this and no idea what I would do if I did,” he said. “Of course, I sure would like to have a few more rings and stick this out for the long haul. God willing, if I retire as a Lakers employee, I wouldn’t mind having a handful of these.”