Sunday, June 12, 2022

On This Day in 2002: The Lakers Accomplish a Rare Feat in the NBA...

The Los Angeles Lakers celebrate their third straight championship after sweeping the New Jersey Nets, 113-107, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals...on June 12, 2002.
Henny Ray Abrams / AFP / Getty Images

It was 20 years ago today that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal lead the Los Angeles Lakers to their third straight championship after sweeping the New Jersey Nets, 113-107, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

This would be the final title that Kobe and Shaq won together, while also the last 'three-peat' to be achieved in the NBA as of today. Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls was the last team to win three championships in a row (twice, from 1991 to '93, and '96 to '98) before the Lake Show came along, while no other American professional basketball team has pulled off this achievement since 2002.

Even though this current Lakers squad doesn't have the same firepower to achieve what Kobe and Shaq attained two decades ago, here's hoping that the new head coach for the team, Darvin Ham, will lead LeBron James and Co. back to the greatness they enjoyed in late 2020. Happy Sunday!

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