Record 58–24 (.707) Period 2001 – 2002 | Arena Staples Center | |
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Television Fox Sports Net West, KCAL Similar 2000–01 Los Angeles, 2009–10 Los Angeles, 1979–80 Los Angeles, 2003–04 Los Angeles, 2001–02 NBA season | ||
The 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 54th season of the franchise, 54th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 42nd in Los Angeles. During the offseason, the Lakers signed All-Star guard Mitch Richmond and free agent Samaki Walker, while acquiring Lindsey Hunter from the Milwaukee Bucks. They finished second in the Pacific Division with a 58–24 record. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in which Bryant won MVP honors, but O'Neal did not participate in the All-Star game due to an injury.
Contents
- Draft picks
- West First Round
- West Conference Semifinals
- West Conference Finals
- Summary
- Aspects
- Game One
- Game Two
- Game Three
- Game Four
- Award winners
- References
After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs in the first two rounds of playoffs, the Lakers where pushed to the brink once more in the Western Conference Finals by their archrivals the Sacramento Kings, who they narrowly defeated in a deciding seventh game. They then went on to win the NBA Finals, defeating and sweeping the New Jersey Nets for their second three-peat in franchise history, the first since 1952–54. Following the season, Richmond retired and Hunter was traded to the Toronto Raptors.
Although they returned to the Finals in 2004, the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games, leading to O'Neal's departure from the Lakers amidst boiling points between the Lakers staff and management and Kobe Bryant, being traded the Miami Heat, ending the early 2000s Lakers dynasty. They would not win another title until 2009.
Draft picks
West First Round
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers Last Playoff Meeting: 2001 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-0)
West Conference Semifinals
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last Playoff Meeting: 2001 Western Conference Finals (Los Angeles won 4-0)
West Conference Finals
(1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Last Playoff Meeting: 2001 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-0)
Summary
The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.
Aspects
Amid tensions between co-captains Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in the Pacific Division and earning the third seed in the Western Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won the game MVP trophy in his hometown Philadelphia. The duo appeared on the All-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with a NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection.
Entering the 2001–02 season, the New Jersey Nets were enduring a three-year playoff drought and had a 73–141 record over that span. In 1999, the Nets hired Rod Thorn as team president and immediately, he hired the recently retired Byron Scott to coach New Jersey. Thorn then dealt for Stephon Marbury in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, trading Sam Cassell away to the Bucks. Due to the Nets' 31–51 season in 1999–00 season, they had the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, which they used to select power forward Kenyon Martin out of the University of Cincinnati. Despite the reshuffling of the roster and a Rookie of the Year season for Martin, New Jersey struggled, ending the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and were bestowed the 7th pick in the upcoming draft.
With another lottery pick, Thorn dealt it to the Houston Rockets for draftees Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. The next day, Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guard Jason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury.
With the Princeton offense installed from the coaching staff, the Nets rebounded to a 52–30 (.634) mark, a twenty-six-win improvement from the last season, and clinched the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams and was selected for his fifth All-Star game. He also finished runner-up to San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan in the Most Valuable Player voting. Richard Jefferson was an All-Rookie second team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awarded NBA Executive of the Year.
Game One
Wednesday, June 5, 2002, 6:00 at the Staples Center.
Los Angeles's Staples Center sold out for the inaugural game of the 2002 NBA Finals, with nearly 19,000 on hand. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloth to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. The Lakers brought out Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, and Kobe Bryant, who drew the assignment of guarding Kidd. New Jersey head coach Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime Lakers, received a standing ovation.
Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42-19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17–6 to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloth into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third.
New Jersey battled back, coming as close as three several times in the final quarter. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5–8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone.
New Jersey was doomed by their late start and poor shooting. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively. Kidd finished with a triple–double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series.
Recap
Game Two
Friday, June 7, 2002, 6:00 at the Staples Center.
The second game was more of statement as the Lakers clobbered the Nets by a score of 106-83 thanks to Shaquille O'Neal's 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Recap
Game Three
Sunday, June 9, 2002, 8:30 at the Continental Airlines Arena.
Game Three would prove to a hard fought game (much like the first game of the series) as the Lakers and Nets would trade leads throughout the game but thanks to Kobe Bryant's 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks the Lakers prevail by a score of 106-103 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Recap
Game Four
Wednesday, June 12, 2002, 9:00 at the Continental Airlines Arena.
Despite this being a hard fought battle (much like the previous game and as well as the first game of the series) the Lakers still won game four and the championship, giving Phil Jackson his Red Auerbach-tying ninth title and the Lakers their third consecutive title (and fourteenth overall) making them the fifth team to win three consecutive titles and denying the Nets their first ever championship since the franchise moved to East Rutherford.
Recap