June 04, 2000, was the true beginning of the Los Angeles Lakers’ era of dominance, with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal leading the charge.
The Lakers eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on this date. The superstar duo handled business in a memorable way. Yes, we are talking about the iconic alley-oop between Kobe and Shaq. The Diesel recently got emotional after discovering the incident happened 23 years ago.
“No, it didn’t,” O’Neal said. “I’m happy that happened, but every time I see my young fella, he’s not with us anymore, it kind of makes me sad. Shout-out to his mom and dad, we talk all of the time, his sisters. Of course, it was a happy moment. But If I could trade that moment and have him sitting here with us or be able to text him and say, ‘Look, Kob, can you believe this happened 23 years ago?’ That would be better for me.”
It was unarguably one of the best games in NBA history. The Lakers were down by 15 points in the fourth quarter. But Shaq and Kobe willed the Lakers past the Blazers to a phenomenal 89-84 win.
Of course, it was the start of something great as the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals after a drought of nine years. The Purple and Gold would go on to win three consecutive titles.
Kobe and Shaq truly dominated during the three-peat era of the Lakers. It was more than enough for them to be regarded as one of the best duos to be ever formed in the history of the league.
Shaquille O’Neal Learned To Let Kobe Bryant Do His Thing
Shaquille O’Neal was undoubtedly the primary superstar for the Los Angeles Lakers during the three-peat era.
But the Lakers wouldn’t have been able to reach the heights that they did without the development of Kobe Bryant as a legitimate second option. Former NBA player Robert Horry revealed how Shaq reacted to Bryant’s development into a star and it allowed them to create that iconic alley-oop dunk in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals vs. the Trail Blazers.
“There was moments when Shaq would give him the ball… ‘Cuz Shaq would back off and try to get out of his way. He would go to the dunker’s spot, and let Kobe do his thing. That’s how he was able to get that dunk in the Portland series. Cuz he let Kobe do his thing.”
Although the iconic duo won three NBA Championships together, their time together ended in 2004 after O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat.
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