By Brian Han

Laker Girl Sujan Pang has been trying for years to secure her place as a dancer on arguably the most prestigious cheerleading squad in the sports world, and this season she was almost ready to accept the same fate as years previous.

“I heard we were going to get a phone call regarding the decision,” Pang said. “As Lisa [Estrada], our director, called me, she opened by thanking me for coming out and asked how I enjoyed the process, so in my head, I started thinking this was a nice little cushion for my rejection, so I prepared myself for the worst news. Then the moment she told me I had made it, I burst into tears. It was a very special moment for me.”

On the surface, most fans only see good looks and expertly executed choreography, but with so much competition amongst those who try out, there are intangible traits that are integral in distinguishing those that are truly qualified to be a Laker Girl.

“I don’t think the best dancer is always the best candidate for a Laker Girl,” said Director of Game Operations and Entertainment and former Laker Girl Lisa Estrada. “If they don’t understand the qualities needed outside of dancing, they probably won’t make the team. In addition to being a good dancer, the ideal Laker Girl needs to be a good brand ambassador, articulate when speaking to the public and be able to engage the community in a meaningful way.”

For Pang, she had been confident that aside from dancing, she had these qualities and could prove it if she made it far enough into the tryouts.

“After four years of auditioning, this was the first year I made it to the finals, which gives us the opportunity for a one-on-one interview with Lisa,” Pang said. “It was important that I make it to that point so she could see exactly what kind of person I am and what I could offer to the organization.”

Estrada had familiarized herself with Pang through previous tryouts as well as another dance project outside of the Lakers, so she was able to witness Pang’s development over the years and was finally convinced she was ready to call on her to join the squad.

“I’m always an open book in the sense that if someone doesn’t make the team and asks me for constructive criticism, I’ll tell them exactly what I think they need to improve on in the next 365 days until the next time around,” Estrada said. “I could tell that Sujan was taking my advice and even changed her look and got in better shape year after year. It made me happy to make that call and tell her that all her hard work had paid off.”

Even though Pang spent a little more than a decade in Alaska where she was born and raised, she had always been a Lakers’ fan deep down.

“I was a total tomboy because of my older brother and learned to love sports,” Pang said. “There aren’t any local teams to root for so we both became die-hard Lakers’ fans growing up.”

After moving to Los Angeles with her family, Pang got her first taste of competitive dancing in high school that transformed her hobby into a career-worthy endeavor.

As for her parents who are Korean immigrants, they didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Pang’s vision for her future.

“Although my parents have always been supportive, I have these high school memories of devoting so much time into developing my talent and of them not attending some of my performances and competitions,” Pang said. “At that point, they felt that it was more of a hobby while I kept trying to stress to them that this was important to me and it was going to be worthwhile in the end.”

Once she started to dance on a more professional platform at the University of Southern California, her parents took notice.

“I saw that a lot of the dancers [from USC] were going on to work for professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL and MLS,” Pang said. “I knew that was the next step in my career.”

Not only did she start working as a dancer, she started developing a career as a behavior therapist for autistic children after majoring in psychology.

“I can see myself being a Laker Girl for years to come, but my primary goal is to get my master’s degree in applied behavior analysis and continue to grow my career outside of dancing,” Pang said.

Her ability to juggle two demanding careers comes down to a learned discipline that she attributes to her parents and her traditionally Korean upbringing.

“The Korean culture is a huge source of pride for me,” Pang said. “My parents worked very hard to be where they are today and they sacrificed a lot to allow me to live out my dream. Without the culture and the discipline they’ve instilled in me, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”