The Los Angeles Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, fought their way through a tough Western Conference. They went through an elimination game against the Sacramento Kings in the first round and also needed a Game 7 to get through the Portland Trail Blazers in the conference finals. In the end, the Lakers found themselves in an NBA Finals matchup against Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers.
O’Neal was having a dominant postseason, but it was most obvious in Game 1 of each series. In the Western Conference playoffs, his Game 1 statistics were nothing short of historic, scoring 46, 37, and 41 points respectively.