The game where Kobe Bryant became Kobe Bryant.
1996 was a huge year for your Los Angeles Lakers. Jerry Buss and company traded for a young rookie out of high school by the name of Kobe Bryant, and they acquired one of the biggest free agents in NBA history Shaquille O’Neal.
Those two players turned out to be not only the biggest stars to ever wear a Laker jersey but one of the greatest players to ever step on the basketball court and one of the greatest duos of all time.
The duo went on to win three straight titles and appear in four NBA finals together, and none of that would have started without their first NBA title together in 2000 against the Indiana Pacers.
The 2000 Lakers propelled a dynasty that we will talk about forever, and SB Nation/Secret Base decided to add Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals to their Deep Rewind series.
The Lakers won that series, 4-2, securing their first title since 1988. O’Neal was the Finals MVP posting one of the most ridiculous stat lines in the Finals. Shaq averaged 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.7 blocks in six games. However, none of that wouldn’t have been possible without the heroics of Kobe Bryant in game four of that series. Bryant injured his ankle badly in Game 2 of the 2000 NBA Finals, which caused him to miss Game 3.
Kobe came back in Game 4, and with Shaq in foul trouble late in the game, it was all up to Bryant to close it out and gain a 3-1 lead over Indiana. He did exactly that; number 8 hit clutch jumper after clutch jumper in overtime resulting in NBC commentator Bob Costas saying, “How good is this kid?!?!” The five-time NBA champion would go on and show us how good he is for the next 16 years.
The early 2000 Lakers are regarded as one of the best teams in NBA History and created one of the most enigmatic and greatest one-two-punch in sports.
