Over a span of several decades, the Los Angeles Lakers became the gold standard of basketball by winning championship after championship. They did so with a formula that consisted of transcendent leaders, star players, selfless supporting contributors and a healthy team concept.
The Lakers are one of very few teams in sports that have had multiple dynasties. They had one in their embryonic years in Minneapolis, one during the Showtime era of the 1980s and yet another one in the first decade of the 21st century. As such, not every one of their championship teams can be put on a top 10 list, but we will do our best to rank the 10 greatest Lakers teams to win it all.
We will begin with the team that resurrected Lakers mystique and transition after a long drought.
Y2K was a return to glory for the Purple and Gold
As the Lakers prepared to enter the new millennium, they were in a definite funk. Despite the presence of two of the NBA’s greatest talents in Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, they had gotten swept in both the 1998 and 1999 playoffs, and the luster of their winning tradition had greatly worn off. It had now been 11 years since they had last won the world title and eight years since their last appearance in the championship series.
In the summer of 1999, the franchise hired former Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson in order to finally get over the hump. It was a reversal of tradition for a franchise that had usually hired unheralded assistants, such as a modest assistant named Pat Riley in 1981. But owner Dr. Jerry Buss and executive Jerry West were sick of brutal defeat after brutal defeat, and they yearned for a return to the winning they experienced in the 1980s.
Despite an old and flawed roster, Jackson guided the Lakers to a 15-4 start that season before they truly took off. After a Dec. 8 loss at the Sacramento Kings, they reeled off a 16-game winning streak that included a victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. By mid-January, L.A. had a 31-5 record, and even though many had expected it to not be a true title contender, it was starting to look like perhaps the team was ahead of schedule.
After a brief slump in late December, the Lakers ran off a 19-game winning streak, followed by an 11-game heater late in the season. O’Neal, who had been accused of being lazy and frivolous when it came to his craft, was supremely motivated all year and was at his absolute zenith on both ends of the floor. Meanwhile, Bryant, despite being young and frantic, was maturing into a capable floor general and scorer.
The Lakers finished with a 67-15 record, and by averaging 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 blocked shots a game, O’Neal won his first and only regular season MVP. It was arguably the most dominant season anyone has ever had in the history of the sport.
But he and his teammates knew that without a Larry O’Brien Trophy, all they did in the regular season would be worthless.
From the brink of an embarrassing defeat to reaching the promised land
As the 2000 NBA Playoffs opened, the Lakers were big favorites to win the world championship, but some wondered if they were ready to go all the way. Had they really matured enough and gained enough self-belief to get the job done?
Sure enough, they struggled in the first round against the upstart, freewheeling Sacramento Kings, a team that presented a preview of how basketball would be played today. Los Angeles needed the full five games to put away Chris Webber and crew, which seemed to be a red flag.
After putting away the Phoenix Suns rather easily in the next round, Jackson’s men advanced to the Western Conference Finals for a much-anticipated showdown with the Portland Trail Blazers. In retrospect, the Blazers were a collection of talent more than an extremely cohesive and hierarchal basketball team, and thus Jackson called them “the best team money can buy.” Yet they would be a very worthy adversary.
L.A. won Game 1 easily, but the Blazers took Game 2 by 29 points, making it clear this wouldn’t be easy. The Lakers managed a clutch win in a classic grind-it-out Game 3 affair, then claimed Game 4. But just when it looked like an NBA Finals berth was a lock for them, they lost Game 5 at home, then got rolled in Game 6 in Portland. It looked like they were going through their familiar downward spiral into self-pity and self-loathing.
Los Angeles played poorly in the first half of Game 7 yet managed to stay neck and neck with Portland. But when it fell behind by 16 late in the third quarter, it looked like the team was about to experience its most embarrassing playoff elimination yet. Instead, the Lakers made a comeback for the ages that rewrote the script, not to mention their own narrative, giving them the win and a trip to the finals.
There, they faced the sharpshooting Indiana Pacers, who were led by Hall of Famer Reggie Miller. After they won Game 1, Bryant sprained his ankle early in Game 2 and didn’t return until Game 4. But Game 4 turned out to be perhaps his first signature great performance under pressure, which gave the Lakers a 120-118 win in overtime and a 3-1 series lead. They finally closed things out at home in Game 6, and at long last, they could call themselves champions.
