Rasheed Wallace On Losing A Game 7 Against Shaquille O’Neal And Kobe Bryant’s Lakers: “I Felt Like I Got Robbed”

Rasheed Wallace was brutally honest about the Portland Trail Blazers losing to Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

4 Min Read

Credit: Fadeaway World

  • The Portland Trail Blazers lost 89-84 against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals
  • Rasheed Wallace, one of the stars of that Blazers team, opened up about how he felt during and after that game
  • Rasheed Wallace has maintained that the Portland Trail Blazers could have won that series, admitting it feels like being robbed

Rasheed Wallace was the highest scorer in a close Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals in 2000 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers lost the game by five points, and Wallace has since candidly opened up on how the entire situation made him feel.  

“I got robbed. At that time, it felt like I got robbed,” Rasheed Wallace said. “Like they took something from me…

“We had it. Looking on their bench and you see guys that are looking like this, looking in the stands, talking to chicks. Even Phil Jackson, he was out of it.

“They rallied the troops, we missed 13 straight shots. Out of that 13, I think I missed six or seven myself. At least. I’m talking about bunnies, little jump hooks, and jump shots that I knew was good and I was hitting all f**king series.” 

The Portland Trail Blazers team is often forgotten, but they had big names like Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis, and Jermaine O’Neal on the team. 

They came back from a 3-1 deficit in the series, with Wallace averaging 23.3 points per game, which was just less than Shaquille O’Neal and fairly more than Kobe Bryant. He was the highest scorer in Game 7, too, managing 30 points, but it was not enough. 


Rasheed Wallace Got His Revenge On The Los Angeles Lakers After Four Years

At the trade deadline of the 2003-04 season, Rasheed Wallace was traded to the Detroit Pistons. He played 22 games in the regular season, before playing all 23 in the playoffs on the Pistons’ way to a championship. 

A 29-year-old Wallace averaged 13.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game during that playoff run and dropped 26 points and 13 rebounds in a crucial Game 4 victory against Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers. 

Rasheed Wallace’s life story and the trajectory of his NBA career are fascinating. Ultimately, he reached the pinnacle of the sport and made $150 million along the way. There’s no reason for him to hold on to any potential regrets from that time. 

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.

Newsletter

Stay up to date with our newsletter on the latest news, trends, ranking lists, and evergreen articles

Follow on Google News

Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.

Share This Article
Follow:
Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *