Worst case turns to first

A long, meandering pathway led to this point -- the road to the Western Conference championship will go through the Lakers.

They were practically left for dead before their season began, assembling on the shores of Honolulu for training camp without knowing if their best player would make it back to the mainland with them.

Six months later, they earned the top seeding in the West, tucking away home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs with a 124-101 victory Tuesday over the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center.

It was only a step, to be sure, but it was tangible and touchable in a season that started with so little of either.

The Lakers began their journey with a waft of Kobe Bryant trade rumors, stumbled to a 9-8 start, discovered Andrew Bynum and then lost him to injury before being rejuvenated by the addition of Pau Gasol.

After all was said and done, the Lakers (57-25) finished with a better regular-season record than the 2000-01 and 2003-04 teams, both of which finished 56-26 and eventually advanced to the NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant made his last case to win his first most-valuable-player award, finishing with 20 points and five assists in only 29 minutes against the Kings. He did not play in the fourth quarter because the Lakers led after three, 101-72. He left to a standing ovation with 50.3 seconds left in the third quarter.

“The West is obviously extremely tough this year and for us to have to play through what we played through all season long and get a top spot, we feel pretty good about it,” Bryant said. “It’s been a great turnaround. It’s been a testament to hard work and the bond that we share with one another. There’s still much work to do.”

Next up for the Lakers is Denver or Dallas, depending on what happens tonight. Game 1 in the first-round series probably will be Sunday at Staples Center.

There’s bound to be little rest in the West, so the Lakers will skip practice today and plan to only watch game video Thursday, after their opponent is known.

Denver trails the seventh-place Mavericks by a game, but the Nuggets own the tiebreaker because of a 2-1 head-to-head record. Dallas plays host to New Orleans tonight. Denver plays host to Memphis.

The Lakers went 3-0 against Denver and 3-1 against Dallas, including 3-0 after the Mavericks acquired Jason Kidd.

“Dallas has been to the championship round two years ago and Denver, they’ve got two guys that can get them 70 points,” Lamar Odom said. “Both teams are tough. Well-coached and great players.”

The Lakers were loose long before Tuesday’s tipoff.

Odom wandered into the locker room wearing a white suit with purple and gold trim that practically jumped off the lapels and sleeves. He was more than 20 minutes late.

“You here with your marching band?” Coach Phil Jackson yelled out, mildly annoyed, or more likely, fairly amused.

The entertainment didn’t stop there for the home team.

The heart of the Kings’ team -- Ron Artest, Kevin Martin and Brad Miller -- sat out because of injuries, leaving the Lakers with plenty of places to penetrate.

Bryant shot poorly, making three of 13 shots, but he still seemed to savor the moment. He had help from Gasol (22 points) and Odom (15 points, 12 rebounds).

Sasha Vujacic made a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in the third quarter, Vladimir Radmanovic dunked after stealing the ensuing inbounds pass, and the party was on, with many fans staying past the typical time to leave to beat traffic.

“I told the guys to celebrate, have a good time,” Jackson said. “And then we’ll be back to business on Thursday.”

And with that, the Lakers took the top spot in the West for the 14th time since the NBA implemented the conference format in 1970-71. As the top-seeded team, the Lakers won the West 10 times and the NBA championship seven times.

The road now begins anew.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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THE WEST

Current seedings for the Western Conference playoffs:

1. Lakers (57-25)

2. New Orleans (56-25)

3. San Antonio (55-26)

4. Utah (54-27)

5. Houston (54-27)

6. Phoenix (54-27)

7. Dallas (50-31)

8. Denver (49-32)