2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers Championship Season Part 2/4

With a third consecutive NBA Championship squarely in their sights, the Los Angeles Lakers opened the 2001-02 regular season much like they ended the 2000-01 campaign, with a flourish. Despite injuries to Derek Fisher (stress fracture; right foot) and Mark Madsen (fractured left wrist and abdominal strain), the team registered victories in their first seven games and 16-of-17 to start the season. The Lakers became only the 11th team to start a season with wins in 16 of their first 17 games and the first since the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls.

Gone from the 2001 Championship team were Ron Harper, Horace Grant, Tyronn Lue and Greg Foster, to be replaced by Lindsey Hunter, Samaki Walker and Mitch Richmond. Led by Richmond, a six-time All-Star, the Lakers acquired three veterans who had combined for 28,040 points and 26 seasons of experience. Those new faces would be relied upon early as Walker was immediately installed into the lineup at power forward and Hunter was counted on to replace Fisher until he recovered from injury.

After their quick start, the Lakers pace slowed as they went 17-12 over their next 19 games and with a mark of 33-13 at the All-Star Break, trailed the Sacramento Kings by 2 ½ games in the Pacific Division standings.

Shaquille O'Neal, who had been battling a foot injury throughout the season, returned from a stint on the injured list shortly after the All-Star break and earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors in two of the first three weeks after his return. He and Kobe Bryant finished third and sixth respectively among league leaders in scoring and propelled the Lakers to a 58-24 regular season mark, second best in the NBA.

The Lakers entered the postseason as the number three seed in the Western Conference and met up with the Portland Trail Blazers for the third consecutive season. Up two games to zero, Robert Horry connected on a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a three-game sweep. In the Western Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 to set up a series between the teams with the league's two best regular season records, the Lakers and the Pacific Division Champion Sacramento Kings. In one of the most exciting playoff series in recent memory, the Lakers emerged victorious, 4-3, after a 112-106 overtime victory at ARCO Arena in game seven.

Los Angeles faced the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals and won the series in four games. Averaging 36.3 points and 12.3 rebounds, O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP for the third consecutive season, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to have accomplished that feat. O'Neal and Bryant were both named First Team All-NBA, becoming the first tandem to receive that honor since Chicago's Jordan and Scottie Pippen in 1996. Phil Jackson earned his ninth NBA Championship as a head coach and surpassed Pat Riley for most playoff wins all-time.

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[TheLavaris]

@ballin7077pussy fakers dont win three championships in a row whats with people and being jealous of such a domminte team

[TheLavaris]

@SKOLLVIKINGS28 coug cough it doesn't take one game to win a series cough cough it takes four just so you know

[DoomDarenxbourg]

Prior to game 6, the kings shot 36 more FTs than the Lakers. In game 2 the kings shoot 38 FTs to the Lakers 25! In game 5, with the series tied at 2, the kings shoot 33 FTs to the Lakers 23, Shaq shots only 1 FT the entire game & fouls out, kings win by 1 after webber knocks Fisher down on a moving screen. But when the kings choked a 48-24 2nd Qt lead in game 4, that was their undoing. So the Lakers got calls in game 6, considering the kings getting calls in games 2 & 5, what goes around comes

[kmank2]

Man Sacramento must really suck if their fans are still bitching about a game that was played a full decade ago. Seriously is that all you have, a gripe about a controversial game 10 years ago? Has your team done nothing in that time? BAH the Lakers don't even bother with a club like the Kings anymore. We win Championships. You bitch about losing.

[JoshBroz]

Game 6 = Rigged

[SKOLLVIKINGS28]

@TheLavaris Cough Cough the kings where up 3-2 cough if they won they would of went to the finals cough...

[SKOLLVIKINGS28]

@TheLavaris The fakers win a championship when they rigg games....cough cough game 6