SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time: No. 9, 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers

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We’ve devoted a whole particular problem,SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time, to rating the perfect 75 particular person season groups ever. This week, we’re unveiling which squads made it on our prime 10. To search out out who else made it on the listing, read here.

9. 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Phil Jackson

Report: 56-26

Roster: Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Greg Foster, Rick Fox, Devean George, Horace Grant, Ron Harper, Robert Horry, Tyronn Lue, Mark Madsen, Stanislav Medvedenko, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Penberthy, Isaiah Rider, Brian Shaw

It’s simple to dismiss the ’00-01 Lakers’ 56 wins as “disappointing.” That wasn’t even the NBA’s prime win whole.

However the true check of this crew—and most nice outfits—is the postseason. In that regard, there’s a completely different quantity that issues.

One.

The Lakers misplaced only one recreation within the 2001 Playoffs, the Finals opener towards Philadelphia. They swept their first three opponents, together with San Antonio, which had the NBA’s finest file.

This was the center championship of L.A.’s early twenty first century three-peat, and it didn’t come simple, regardless of the playoff dominance. The Lakers fought accidents, withstood some animosity between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and needed to combine some new faces (Isaiah Rider, Horace Grant) right into a deep rotation that gained eight straight to complete the common season.

Issues weren’t nice between the 2 stars, because the Huge Brother-Little Brother dynamic was not that palatable to Bryant. Coach Phil Jackson was capable of maintain issues comparatively zen, but it surely was clear that the 2 weren’t too pleased collectively. That led to some regular-season unease and a ultimate file that doesn’t actually characterize how good this crew was.

In fact, O’Neal was overpowering. Nonetheless on the peak of his powers, he averaged 28.7 ppg and 12.7 rpg. He was even higher within the Finals, when he gained MVP. Not that Bryant was merely driving shotgun or something. He scored 28.5 ppg, by far his finest efficiency as knowledgeable as much as that second. They might not have been lunch buddies off the courtroom, and so they feuded throughout the season concerning the breakdown of offensive alternatives, however when the ball was tossed up, they fashioned an unbeatable tandem.

Maybe the largest purpose why the crew didn’t method 70 victories was the absence for 62 video games of level guard Derek Fisher, who was recovering from a stress fracture in his proper foot. As soon as he returned, the offense was extra environment friendly, and the Lakers performed higher on the different finish, too. Grant was a gradual inside power, whereas Rick Fox supplied his traditional all-around help.

Within the playoffs, L.A. swept away Portland, Sacramento and San Antonio, because the crew crackled. And although Allen Iverson’s 48 factors within the Sixers’ time beyond regulation win in Sport 1 of the Finals gave Philly some hope, the Lakers crushed that ruthlessly over the subsequent 4 video games to finish the second title of their three-peat. There was extra—of every part—to return in 2001-02.