During the Los Angeles Lakers’ three-peat run at the beginning of the century, their toughest test in the NBA Finals undoubtedly came against the Indiana Pacers in 2000. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal faced off against a Pacers squad led by Reggie Miller who had finally gotten over the hump and made their first Finals appearance.
It was a hard-fought six game series that could have very well gone differently had a couple of things changed, but arguably the key matchup saw a young Kobe go toe-to-toe with the veteran Miller. Bryant was still growing as a player and Miller even recalled teaching him a move that he would later regret, but that isn’t all that helped Kobe prepare.