How the 2000’s Lakers Dynasty was Born
During the mid-1990s, the Los Angeles Lakers were adrift in mediocrity — a storied franchise that had stumbled into a rutt during which the team lacked star power and playoff success. Their Showtime glory years were well behind them, replaced by unspectacular play and fleeting moments of hope that left fans clamoring for the dawn of a new era.
The Lakers faithful got their wish during the summer of 1996 when a pair of savvy front-office moves netted the franchise two superstars who would dominate the NBA for a generation: a young Kobe Bryant and all-world center Shaquille O’Neal.
Despite immediately emerging as a playoff-caliber team after acquiring this formidable duo, it wasn’t until “Zen Master” Phil Jackson took over as head coach in 1999 that the Lakers truly found their stride.
The result: an NBA championship three-peat and one of the greatest three-year stretches in NBA history.
Throughout this era of domination denomination and success, however, came a healthy dose of team drama — a tension that ultimately led to the unraveling of this beloved yet complex Lakers dynasty. As one anonymous NBA general manager told Sports Illustrated in 2004, "In the history of the game, there's never been that much turmoil after that much success."
Before we get to the turmoil, though, let’s look at the birth of the NBA’s first 21st Century dynasty.
The Superstars
Following a 1995-96 season during which L.A. finished 53-29 but was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers brass charged into the offseason with a two-pronged strategy.
The plan hinged on their desire to sign Shaq, who was a free agent following an injury-riddled 1995-96 season with the Orlando Magic. General manager Jerry West also had his eye on a 17-year-old shooting guard from the Philadelphia suburbs who impressed Lakers players and scouts during his pre-draft visit to L.A. This of course was Kobe Bryant.
To move far enough up in the draft to nab Kobe — a move that would also open opening up a roster spot and cap space for a potential Shaq signing — West worked out a deal. The Lakers would send Vlade Divac to Charlotte for the Hornets’ No. 13 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. On draft day, the Lakers told Charlotte they wanted them to take Kobe.
With the Divac-for-Kobe deal finalized a few days later, L.A. had the cash to lure Shaq. He signed his seven-year, $121 million contract on July 18, 1996.
The Growth
Though today the two are remembered as one of the more legendary duos in NBA history, the Shaq-Kobe era got off to a slow start. These early years were also marked by coaching changes and growing pains as the team struggled to fully harness the potential of their star players.
Shaq averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds during the 1996-97 season, but he also missed more than 30 games due to injury. For his part, Kobe’s rookie year was one of transition for the teenager. By the end of the season, he averaged just 7.6 points and 15.5 minutes per game.
Still, the duo brought renewed hope and excitement to the franchise, signaling the start of a new era. In their first season together, the Lakers finished with a 56-26 record, showcasing their potential by advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they fell to the Utah Jazz.
The following season (1997-1998), the Lakers continued to build on this success, finishing with an impressive 61-21 record. Shaq's dominance in the paint and Kobe's emerging talent as a scoring threat made them one of the league's most dominant one-two punches. L.A. advanced to the Western Conference Finals, only to be swept by the Utah Jazz.
The 1998-1999 season lockout-shortened saw the Lakers finish with a 31-19 record, only to be eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals by the San Antonio Spurs, who would go on to win the NBA Championship.
Throughout this stretch, the Lakers continued to show promise but were inconsistent and faced significant internal challenges. Among them was managing the emerging but sometimes contentious relationship between Shaq and Kobe.
The Coach
Source: Sports Illustrated
Enter the “Zen Master,” Phil Jackson. At the time, Jackson was most known for leading Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to a pair of three-peat seasons during the 1990s.
Though vowing to never coach again after retiring in 1998, the Lakers offered Jackson another chance to field test the effectiveness of his triangle offense and Eastern-inspired coaching philosophies on a talented yet underachieving team.
More importantly, Jackson was brought in to temper the growing tension between Shaq and Kobe. Bryant’s emergence as one of the most exciting young scorers in basketball created a clash of egos and a dilemma for the Lakers: run a slash-style offense through Kobe, or let Shaq drive the offense with his inside dominance?
Jackson chose to revolve the team’s offense around Shaq who, as a dominant scorer in the paint, was also responsible for distributing the ball. In return for his confidence, Jackson expected Shaq to develop as a team leader, which involved focusing more on conditioning and defense.
Needless to say, Jackson’s hire came at the right time, paying immediate dividends for a team in desperate need of some tranquility.
The Supporting Cast
By the time they hired Jackson, the Lakers had surrounded their stars with a supporting cast that provided the essential elements of balance, versatility and stability, allowing Kobe and Shaq to flourish.
Players like Robert Horry and Glen Rice, known for their outside shooting, created floor spacing that prevented defenses from focusing solely on Shaq in the paint. Similarly, the perimeter threats opened up driving lanes for Kobe, enabling him to utilize his athleticism and scoring ability without constantly encountering congested defenses.
Contributions from players like Rick Fox, Ron Harper and Horace Grant were instrumental in solidifying the Lakers' defensive schemes. Fox's ability to guard opponents’ top perimeter players, combined with Harper's versatile defense and Grant's interior presence, alleviated the defensive burden on their superstars.
The unselfish play and cohesion of these role players were vital in fostering a team-first mentality, especially during a time when Jackson was rolling out the triangle offense, which required a strong team dynamic.
The Success
With all the pieces in place, the Lakers immediately dominated the NBA. Their league-best 67-15 record during the 1999-2000 season was notable for its winning streaks, including a 19-game stretch of success that lasted nearly a month and a half.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Shaq was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) that year thanks to his 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and three blocked shots per game. And, Kobe continued to emerge as a bona fide superstar, scoring 22.5 points a night.
In the postseason, L.A. blew through Sacramento and Phoenix in the first two rounds before a dramatic series against the Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference Finals. Down 15 points in Game 7, the Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter to reach the NBA Championship round.
The comeback run was highlighted by a memorable alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq.
“That was the defining moment of our dominant run,” Shaq said years later. “...that solidified us being the most enigmatic, most controversial, most dominant one-two punch ever created.”
The Lakers went on to beat the Indiana Pacers in six games to earn their first NBA championship since 1988. Shaq was named the Finals MVP, capping off a dominant season for the franchise.
While that dominance took a minor step backward during the next season, it showed back up in spades during the 2001 playoffs. Entering the postseason as the second seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers swept the Blazers, the Kings and the Spurs en route to another NBA Title, which they earned by beating the Philadelphia 76ers.
Their final playoff record that year was an unprecedented 15-1. Shaq was again named Finals MVP having recorded 33 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocked shots per game. Kobe also made an impact during the series, averaging 24.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the finals, showcasing his intensity and growing versatility as a player.
“Kobe’s become the floor leader of a basketball team that was kind of looking for that nature of a player, who could not only be a scorer but also be a playmaker or consistently make big plays at critical times,” Jackson said during the playoffs. “I’ve always held the bar up very high for Kobe, and he’s not only reached that bar, but he’s jumping right over the top of it right now.”
During the 2001-02 season — one marred by an increase in tension between the Lakers’ superstars — Shaq and Kobe together averaged 52.4 points, 16.2 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game on their way to a 58-24 record.
Again, the team dominated during the playoffs, going 15-4 while sweeping the New Jersey Nets in the Finals.
The Kings nearly derailed the celebration by taking the Lakers to Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals, however. A Robert Horry buzzer-beater in Game 4 and a 112-106 Game 7 overtime victory led the Lakers to their third-straight championship series and NBA Finals victory. Shaq was again named the MVP.
The Unravelling
Throughout all this success, trouble had long been brewing between Shaq and Kobe. The two had been known to butt heads in practice, with Shaq once slapping Kobe during an intense four-on-four scrimmage.
The feud seemingly intensified as Kobe matured and the Lakers became more dominant. Despite racking up victories, Shaq often took jabs at Bryant while speaking to the media, criticizing the youngster’s shot selections and perceived selfishness on the court.
As Kobe grew into one of the league’s top scorers and most electrifying players — at one point, his jerseys were outselling Shaq’s in Southern California sporting goods stores — he became a selectively outspoken leader in his own right.
He expressed displeasure with Shaq for being out of shape at the start of training camps, and he grew critical of Jackson’s triangle offense, which he believed was too simple and “doesn’t give me what I have to have for my game.”
While the tension between the two ebbed and flowed through their championship seasons, with the pair often complimenting one another following important victories, baggage began to pile up around each player.
Shaq kept showing up to training out of shape, leading to injuries that may have been prevented — at least in Kobe’s eyes. At the same time, Kobe continued to be criticized for being aloof, a ball hog, and in it for himself over the team.
Knee surgery and sexual assault allegations following the 2002 playoffs served to fuel the distaste for Kobe among fans and other players, including Shaq. As Kobe dealt with health and legal issues, Shaq actively (and effectively) lobbied for the offseason signings of all-stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
These signings created the NBA’s first modern superteam, which went into the 2003-04 season heavily favored to win another championship. This certainly seemed destined after the Lakers started the season on a 21-3 tear.
Injuries hampered the team the rest of the year, but a 56-26 record secured them the second seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers cruised through the playoffs to reach the NBA finals, but a fourth NBA title wasn’t in the cards. Despite being heavily favored, L.A. lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games.
Three days later, the Lakers announced that Jackson would no longer be coaching the team. A few weeks later, they traded Shaq to the Miami Heat, effectively ending the Lakers Dynasty.
Then, Kobe signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract to stay with the Lakers, making him the indisputable team leader moving forward.
The Legacy
By sticking with the Lakers, Kobe cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in NBA history. Under the leadership of Jackson, who came back to coach the Lakers from 2005 to 2011, Bryant won two more NBA championships (2009 and 2010), was twice named the NBA Finals MVP, and was the league MVP in 2008.
The two additional titles with Kobe made Phil Jackson an 11-time NBA championship coach, a first in the NBA. After retiring from coaching for good, Jackson was named president of the New York Knicks, though during his tenure in the Big Apple, he failed to realize the level of success he grew accustomed to as a coach.
As for Shaq, he won his fourth NBA championship with the Heat in 2006 after joining forces with yet another young player, Dwyane Wade. After four years in Miami during which his age began to show, Shaq played one year each in Pheonix, Cleveland and Bostom before retiring and becoming an NBA commentator and pitchman.
Later, Shaq and Kobe would make amends, acknowledging that while their feud was silly, it also drove them to be better players.
"Shaq and I have a really, really good relationship now,” Kobe said in 2013. “I think it's a good lesson for all of us. I think we appreciate each other more now than ever. I think the further you get away from the history that you had together, the more you put perspective on it on how dominant we were. It's fun for us to kind of get together again and kind of reminisce on some of the old stories."
Despite the good and the bad that came from the NBA’s first dynasty of the millennium, the Shaq-Kobe Lakers forged a dominant legacy by winning three consecutive championships and largely dominating in the playoffs. Even with the off-the-court tensions, the era was marked by the pair’s on-court synergy — a potent combination of Shaq’s dominance in the paint and Kobe’s focus and drive to score.
The pair’s success, characterized by memorable playoff performances and dramatic victories, solidified their status as one of the most iconic and formidable duos in NBA history.
