The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2001-02 campaign well atop the NBA, standing as a dynasty in the making. With two championships already under their belt, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal wouldn’t accept anything less than a three-peat.
With a 58-24 record, Los Angeles earned the third seed in the Western Conference, pitted against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. There was no love lost between these two title contenders over the years, forming a bitter rivalry that included the historic Bryant lob to O’Neal.
Both teams had their respective cores still intact going into the playoff matchup, but Portland was missing a key piece in the middle.