phil jackson

lalnkioski

If what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, then the Nets never had a chance here.

The Lakers faced the abyss of going down 3-1 to the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals before being rescued by Robert Horry, and then winning Game 7 in overtime.

If one sees that historic series as the matchup between the 2 best teams in the league, then what happened in the real NBA Finals makes a lot more sense.

Coming into the night of June 12th, 2002, the Phil Jackson-Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal Lakers had done it all. The won their first ring after tough battles with the Blazers and Pacers in 2000. They crushed the competition in 2001, going 15-1 in the playoffs. And here, with the Kings in the rearview mirror and a 3-0 lead, only a formality stood between them and the first three-peat in the history of the franchise in Los Angeles.

In fairness, Games 1 and 3 had been competitive. The purple and gold won them by five and three points, respectively. Sandwiched between them was a 23-point demolition at STAPLES Center.

New Jersey had prime Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin and a decent supporting cast led by Keith Van Horn, Todd McCollough and Kerry Kittles, but it was no match for L.A.’s star-power and depth.

Game 4 was another close affair, with the Nets leading at one point by 11 in the first quarter. However, the Lakers quickly tied it early in the second quarter, and both teams traded until about midway through the 4th.

The rest of the game reads a lot like a summary of one of the best 3-year periods in the history of the league: Derek Fisher jumpers, Bryant’s layups and Shaq’s and-1’s.

O’Neal averaged 36.3 points in the Finals and won his third consecutive Finals MVP trophy, a feat he shares with Michael Jordan to this day.

The Lakers had five players in double figures, but the cherry on top was Mitch Richmond scoring the last basket of the game, finally winning a ring in the last moments of a decorated 14-year NBA career.

“You have to tip your hat off to them,” Kidd said. “They were the best team. Unfortunately, we just couldn't get it done in this series.”

It was also Jackson’ 11th NBA title, allowing him to tie Red Auerbach at that point in time.

“It is remarkable that I'm sitting here in a situation that I never dreamed of,” said Jackson. "I've been very fortunate to be in this position.”

He also got a nice shout out from his big man.

“I'd like to congratulate Phil for bringing out the best in us," said O'Neal. “He gave us a plan when we first met him. He gave me a plan when we first met him. He promised us if we stuck to the plan that everything would work out.”

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Lakers History: Purple and Gold Clinches First Three-Peat in Los Angeles

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“For gold is tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity”.

Two days after the game that ruined perfection, the defending champions found themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to react and restore order.

Allen Iverson’s iconic 48-point performance in an overtime upset had given Philadelphia an unexpected series lead after Game 1 of the 2001 Finals, snapping a 19-game winning streak that had started in early April.

Yes, after a rocky journey through the 2000 postseason, Phil Jackson’s 2001 squad demolished its competition by winning the last eight games of the regular season and the first 11 of the playoffs – sweeping Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio along the way and remaining unbeaten over a period longer than 2 months.

The Sixers were the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Conference but far from a formidable squad, needing 7 games to get past Toronto and Milwaukee before shocking the world in Downtown Los Angeles.

This was a big test, the ultimate show of character and a chance to even things up before heading to Philly for the next 3 games of the series.

Kobe Bryant was ready though, draining the team’s first basket with a long jumper from the top of the key. Despite playing 52 minutes in Game 1, the product of Lower Merion HS dropped 12 in the opening stanza to set the tone.

Shaquille O’Neal took over in the second quarter, and by halftime he had a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Larry Brown’s Sixers were held fast and managed to get to intermission only down by a deuce. They also put up a fight throughout most of the third before the levy broke.

An inspired Derek Fisher nailed a three-pointer with 18.1 seconds to go, extending the lead to 10. It wouldn’t be his last clutch bucket, as he hit another 25-footer in the 4th when Philadelphia had managed to get within a triple.

Kobe ended up with 31 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals and blocks. Shaq fell just short of a quadruple-double, finishing with 28 &amp; 20, plus nine assists and a ridiculous eight blocks. A.I. was kept to 23 points on 29 shots.

However, it was the third guy in double digits that sealed the deal. Veterans Brian Shaw and Ron Harper provided some timely baskets, but Fisher’s 14 – and the precise moments when he got them – wound up being the difference.

Turns out that was the last time live basketball was played in STAPLES Center that season, as the Lakers then swept all 3 in Philadelphia en route to their second consecutive championship.

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Lakers History: Defending Champs Get Even With the Sixers in 2001 Finals

Some games transcend what’s at stake on that particular night.

A family from Spain, two franchises and one traded that altered the course of history – all came together on the night of December 22, 2008.

Some 10 months earlier, the Lakers had acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies, and part of the price was surrendering the rights to his brother Marc.

The purple and gold had immediately become a championship contender, losing to the Boston Celtics in the Finals. Later that summer, the Spanish duo faced against Kobe Bryant in the gold medal game at the Olympics in Beijing, with the Black Mamba coming out on top as the captained the Redeem Team and restored order for the U.S. at the international level.

This occasion, despite being a random regular season road game, packed an emotional punch. Pau was making his return to the city and team that drafted him in 2001 and where he became an All-Star for the first time. It also marked the first time he shared a court with his brother while going mano a mano.

The game itself didn’t disappoint either, despite involving the best team in the NBA and a rebuilding Memphis squad coached by Marc Iavaroni.

Excellent performances from O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay had the Grizzlies leading both at the half and at the end of the third quarter. Phil Jackson’s squad went into the game with a record of 21-5 but the upset became a real possibility when a Darko Milicic dunk put the home team up by five points with 3:30 to go in the fourth.

What happened next foreshadowed a lot of what would ensue over the next few years. Kobe took over, Pau backed him up, Derek Fisher added some timely contributions, and the Lakers escaped with the victory.

Down the stretch, Bryant hit a couple of free throws, a short jumper, a three-pointer from 25 feet, another free throw and a last-second dunk – all part of a dominant 36-point showing on 14-of-23 from the field.

“We know what we want to do,” Bryant said. “For a young team, they are still kind of searching for what that identity is going to be. For us, we've been there, done that. So, it's just a matter of how well we executed.”

Pau won the family battle after chipping in 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Marc only managed an 8-7-2 line. Far from bragging, the older brother took the high road.

“Somebody had to lose tonight, right?” Pau said. “I'm happy we came out victorious because we needed this win extremely bad to continue to pursue our goals. But I'm sorry that on the losing end were the Grizzlies and my brother.”

The Lakers continued their rampage through the league that year, winning 65 games and earning their 15th title after defeating the Orlando Magic in five games in the NBA Finals.

The following season, Gasol and Kobe repeated, becoming one of the most believed duos in the recent history of the franchise.

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Lakers History: Pau Returns to Memphis, Wins Gasol Derby After Late L.A. Comeback

Some people just have that clutch gene, you know?

In the spring of 2004, Derek Fisher was already a 3-time champion who’d started and shared the backcourt with Kobe Bryant in the 2001 and 2002 Finals.

However, the arrival of a future Hall of Famer like Gary Payton relegated him to a bench role for the 2003-04 season – one in which the Lakers were gunning for their fourth title in five seasons.

Never one to complain, Fish adapted, and when he got his chance to shine again, he took it and ran. Literally (more on that in a second).

The occasion was Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, facing none other than the defending-champions San Antonio Spurs.

Gregg Popovich’s squad jumped to a 2-0 series lead, extending a winning streak to 17 games after a torrid end to the regular season and sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

L.A. was a different animal though, winning games 3 and 4 to tie the series, setting up a pivotal return to Texas.

The stakes couldn’t have been any higher, but a signature of the Kobe-Shaq era was their performance under pressure. Phil Jackson’s team won the first two quarters in an extremely low-scoring affair and led by 16 points with 3:59 to go until the end of the quarter.

Done deal? Not so fast. The Spurs reacted and shut down L.A., limiting them to a mere 10 points over the next 16 minutes.

And they tasted victory too. Guarded by Shaquille O’Neal in the waning seconds of the ballgame, Tim Duncan nailed an impossible shot from the top of the key as he fell to his left. He later admitted he didn’t see the ball go in, but his jumper gave the Spurs a one-point lead with 0.4 seconds.

Had it not been for what happened next, Duncan’s dagger would’ve been one of those iconic playoff moments that get passed down from generation to generation.

“One lucky shot deserves another,” O'Neal said after the game.

With less than half of a second in the game clock, the Lakers were looking for a lob to Shaq or for Kobe on a curl. When the Spurs denied those, survival instinct kicked in, and the open man got the chance to be the hero.

In one of the most incredible sequences in the history of the game, Fisher caught the inbounds pass from Payton and in a single motion fired a turnaround lefty shot over the outstretched arms of Manu Ginobili.

Yes, Fisher immediately sprinted toward the locker room before the crowd at the then AT&amp;T Center could even process what they had just witnessed.

“I just wanted to get out of there and not give them an opportunity to think that we didn't believe it went in,” Fisher said, showing incredible presence of mind in arguably the wildest moment of his career.

Despite the Spurs’ protests, the call stood and the Lakers won the game – snapping San Antonio’s 17-game home winning streak – before closing out the series in Game 6 in Los Angeles.

The purple and gold made it all the way to the NBA Finals that year, losing to the Detroit Pistons in 5 games.

Fisher left in free agency that summer, but returned to the franchise in 2007 and helped the Lakers to another pair of titles in 2009 and 2010.

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Lakers History: The Night of Fisher’s Jumper With 0.4 Seconds Left

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Before Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, there was one Kobe Bean Bryant.

By that point in January of 2003, Laker fans, particularly those at STAPLES Center, had grown accustomed to witnessing greatness from the guy in the No. 8 jersey. But they’d never seen something like THIS.

Coming into that game against the Seattle Supersonics, Bryant was 26-of-92 (28.3%) from three-point territory that season. His career-high was 5 triples.

And there was nothing out of the ordinary early on, with the purple and gold jumping to a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

But then Bryant connected from long range for the first time with 7:17 to go until halftime. No one knew it at that precise moment, but the levy had broken.

Kobe added five more in a row heading into intermission, already establishing a new personal best.

“It's hard to describe,” Bryant said of the feeling once the buckets started piling up. “You just feel so confident. You get your feet set and get a good look at the basket -- it's going in.”

Shaquille O’Neal assisted on number 7 with 9:18 to go in the third.

The next one – his 9th consecutive bomb – established a new franchise record, leaving Glen Rice and Nick Van Exel behind. At the time, it was also the most three-pointers in a row in an NBA contest, an honor that now belongs to Ty Lawson and Chandler Parsons (10).

The following one, a tough pullup over Kenny Anderson, was the dictionary definition of a heat check and put the Lakers up by 18.

“I never thought I would have a game like this, though,” Bryant said. “I made the first one, I said, ‘Let me see if I can make two.’ I made the second one, I said, ‘Let me see if I can make three.’ I made the third one, I said, ‘I've got a rhythm going.’”

By then, everyone had lost their collective minds in Downtown L.A. and it was a just a matter of finding out how far Bean could go.

In the end he drained 12 triples – a record he owned by himself for 26 months. Donyell Marshall eventually tied him, Curry hit 13 in 2016, and Thompson reached 14 in 2018.

“That was perhaps the greatest streak shooting I have ever seen in my life,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Bryant shot 12-of-18 from beyond the arc that night in just 37 minutes and change and finished with 45 points. The scariest thing is that he likely left a couple more on the table, as he exited with 4:16 to go and the game in the refrigerator.

Nate McMillan, then coaching the Sonics, could only tip his hat.

“I don't think most guys can do that in a gym by themselves, let alone a game where you're being defended,” he said.

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Lakers History: Kobe Makes It Rain Against Seattle

Mike Trudell

Throughout history, every opponent gets up for the Lakers.

The 2009 Western Conference semifinals weren’t any different, with the Houston Rockets upsetting Phil Jackson’s squad in Game 1 and threatening to return to Texas with a commanding series lead.

Fresh off a painful loss in the 2008 Finals, the purple and gold won 65 games in the regular season to become the No. 1 seed in the West. However, a scrappy team led by the artist formerly known as Ron Artest loomed as a serious threat – ready to shock the world or to go down swinging.

“It's the playoffs,” Kobe Bryant said. “This is what it's about.”

The Lakers jumped to a commanding 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but Houston punched back, tying the score heading into halftime. It was a clear foreshadowing of the type of back and forth series we’d eventually see.

That night of May 9th though, the Lakers were done messing around. A 16-4 run pushed their lead to double digits one more time, and the rest of the way was a simple matter of holding on.

Well, maybe not so simple, given the number of technical fouls being doled out. Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and Luis Scola received techs toward the end of the third quarter.

Moments later, Derek Fisher was called for a flagrant foul after colliding with the Argentine and got a bloody cut on his head. Fish was ejected.

“We are playing basketball, there is a lot of contact taking place,” Bryant said. “If you are going to be physical you have to expect to get physical back.”

Tempers never cooled down and neither did the back and forth between Bryant and Artest, who went mano a mano throughout most of the night.

Kobe finished with 40 points on an excellent 16-of-27 from the field. Artest had 25 (4-for-7 from beyond the arc) and five assists but was eventually ejected in the fourth.

Pau Gasol had a monster performance with 22 points (on 13 shots), 14 boards, four assists and four blocks – manning the middle (Andrew Bynum managed just 8 minutes) and getting the best of Yao Ming, who finished with 12 points on just four shot attempts.

Kobe knew then and there that they were in for a dog fight.

“We are being tested and this is fun,” he said.

Lo and behold, the Rockets forced a Game 7 before running out of gas. The Lakers dismantled them at STAPLES Center by an 89-70 score and eventually defeated the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals for their 15th title in franchise history.

The following year they added Artest to their squad and he played a key role in beating Boston in the 2010 Finals. In 2011, Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace, and went on to become one of the franchise’s most beloved players of the decade.

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Lakers History: Kobe & Metta Battle Before Winning a Ring Together

Of all the unbelievable moments of Kobe Bryant’s storybook career, none defied logic (or science or the effects of time) more than the last month and a half of the 2012-13 regular season.

In a campaign in which the Lakers seemed cursed by the injury gods, the Black Mamba went on an absolute rampage down the stretch – putting on a show night after night to rescue the Lakers and eventually get them into the postseason.

The situation was dire in the standings heading into the night of March 6th against the Hornets as the Lakers found themselves on the outside of the playoff picture. Things weren’t much better on the court either.

Monty Williams’ squad opened a double-digit lead on the Pau Gasol-less Lakers, and they were up by as many as 25 points at 63-38 with 2:13 to go until halftime.

Of course, with Bryant on the opposing team, no lead was safe that year.

“I believed we were going to win it the whole time,” Bryant said. “The most important thing for me was to bring my teammates along with me. I had to force the game upon them a little bit and change the momentum and get everybody believing we could do this together.”

The Pelicans kept most of their lead throughout the third quarter, but Kobe and company saved their best for last, to the chagrin of most at the New Orleans Arena.

The comeback was set in motion with a couple of Kobe strikes in the paint and a pair of three-pointers from Jodie Meeks, yet the Hornets extended their lead to 14 on a Robin Lopez dunk with 6:47 to go.

What no one knew at that exact moment was that the home team would never score again that night.

Yes, Bryant led a 20-0 run down the stretch and the Lakers escaped Louisiana with a win that allowed them to get back to .500 at 31-31.

How did it happen? Layups, dunks, free throws, mid-range jump shots, and a long-distance strike for good measure from a man possessed wearing No. 24.

The cherry on top was a masterful act of deception. On a side out-of-bounds, the Lakers lined up underneath their own basket. That totally fooled the Hornets as Kobe sprinted down the court, catching the inbounds pass from Steve Blake and dunking completely unopposed.

The Mamba finished with 42 points and 10 assists after injuring his right elbow the previous night in Oklahoma City.

“It's tough games like this that really strengthen the bond between us players and that's really what the playoffs is about,” he said. “You have adversity. It's about who's going to stick together and who's not going to break.”

Meeks definitely didn’t break, as he hit four three-pointers in the fourth and scored 19 off the bench.

Neither did Dwight Howard, who posted a monster double-double (20 points and 15 boards) with four blocks, including a key rejection to preserve the lead in the final minute.

“This game brought us closer together as a team,” he said afterward.

For some reason, rookie Anthony Davis (the No. 1 pick in the 2012 Draft and the crown jewel of the Hornets’ rebuild) only played 16 minutes that night, finishing with 13 points, six boards and a couple of blocks. For what it’s worth, he was a plus-6 for the game.

Including that win, the Lakers prevailed in 12 of their next 17 games, as Bryant saw his minutes rise dramatically as the season came to a close – culminating in the epic game against Golden State where he tore his Achilles’ tendon.

Bryant’s herculean effort allowed the Lakers to make the playoffs at the 8th seed in the Western Conference in 2013 before being swept at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

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Lakers History: L.A. Completes 25-Point Comeback Behind Kobe’s 42

lalswong

At the peak of his powers, Kobe Bryant was a wonder to behold.

The Black Mamba obviously had a long and fruitful prime – winning his first ring at 21 and carrying a depleted Laker squad to a playoff berth at 34 – but what he was able to accomplish night after night in the 2007-08 season was arguably the crème of the crop.

Kobe won his lone MVP trophy that year after averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists as he led the purple and gold to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and sure carried that swagger into the first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

And after dropping a somewhat inefficient 32 in Game 1, he painted an absolute masterpiece in the second game of the series, outgunning a pair of surefire Hall of Famers in the process.

The night of April 23rd will be remembered not only for Bryant’s 49-point explosion, but also due to the way he found an extra level down the stretch against a pretty decent squad coached by George Karl.

His start wasn’t too shabby either, as the dropped 20 in the opening stanza while putting on a mid-range clinic.

Clearly Kenyon Martin, an athletic power forward who drew the assignment early in the series, wasn’t going to be the answer.

Hell, The Answer himself admitted there was no stopping Bryant that evening at STAPLES Center.

“Tonight, the way he was going, we probably could have put 10 people on the court and probably wouldn't have been able to stop him,” Allen Iverson said.

The former Sixers star was excellent too with 31 points and six assists, but the Lakers led consistently heading into the fourth quarter.

The Nuggets did manage to cut the lead down to five points before Kobe decided he’d seen plenty and heard enough of Martin’s trash talk.

In a span of 4:19, Bryant scored 19 to push his tally to 49 and put the game out of reach, allowing the Lakers to travel to Denver up 2-0. He was replaced by current South Bay Lakers head coach Coby Karl, and the moment marked the first time a father coached against his son in NBA playoff history.

“He's one of those players that you don't really want to make mad,” said Lamar Odom after the game. “He can make shots from anywhere with people on him…You never want to wake a sleeping giant.”

Iverson and Carmelo Anthony combined for 54 points and J.R. Smith added 21 off the bench, but all of that paled in comparison to Bryant’s greatness.

Kobe shot 18-of-27 (that’s 2 makes out of every 3 shots for those keeping track at home), including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. He also had 10 dimes and four rebounds in 42 minutes of action.

Oh, and Vino did it while playing with a torn ligament in his right hand and a sore left knee.

Phil Jackson’s squad would go on to win both games in the Mile High City to sweep the Nuggets and advance to the second round in a campaign that would see them make it all the way to the NBA Finals.