The 2001 NBA Finals was the

championship round In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA)'s 2000–01 season. The defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

took on the Eastern Conference champion

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

for the championship, with the Lakers holding

home-court advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gai ...

in a best-of-seven format. The Lakers won the series 4 games to 1. Lakers

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the series.

NBA MVP The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Starting with the 2022–23 ...

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iver ...

scored 48 points in his only NBA Finals victory, as the 76ers took Game 1 107–101 in overtime, handing the Lakers their only loss of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. However, the Lakers went on to win the next four games. In Game 3

Robert Horry Robert Keith Horry (; born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any pla ...

hit a three-point shot in the last minute, and in the next two games the Lakers used hot 3-point shooting to build big leads and hold off late 76ers comeback attempts in games 4 and 5, pulling away for double-digit wins to win the title.

Background

The

entered the

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. Not ...

as the defending NBA champions. The club lost a few players to free agency, but they signed veteran players like

Isaiah Rider Isaiah Rider Jr., nicknamed J.R. (born March 12, 1971), is an American former professional basketball player who played 9 seasons in the NBA. Rider was born in Oakland, California, and was raised in nearby Alameda. He starred in both baseball and ...

and

Horace Grant Horace Junior Grant Sr. (born July 4, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for Michael Reinsdorf, the president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Bulls. He attended and played college baske ...

. The Lakers began the season struggling on and off the court, as they were losing games at the beginning with the

Shaq–Kobe feud The Shaq–Kobe feud was the conflict between National Basketball Association (NBA) players Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who played together for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2004. O'Neal and Bryant won 3 consecutive NBA champions ...

. Injuries also riddled the team as they struggled through the season. But by April 1, 2001, the Lakers last loss was to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and they never looked back as the team closed out the season on an eight-game winning streak, thus finishing the season 56-26 and closing out as the number 2 seed in the West behind the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. The Lakers began the

2001 NBA Playoffs The 2001 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000-01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphi ...

versus the team against whom they played the previous year in the Western Conference finals, the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. The Trail Blazers were a team that struggled throughout the season but battled back to claim the 7th seed. The series wasn't close, as the Lakers swept the Trail Blazers by double digits in all three games. In the semifinals the Lakers took on the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, a team who had also given the Lakers a tough series the previous season, but the Lakers took two close games at home and went to Sacramento to finish the Kings off with a 4–0 sweep as well. In the conference finals the Lakers went up against the number 1 seed San Antonio Spurs, who were expected to be more competitive than the Lakers' previous opponents. But the Lakers took games 1 and 2 in San Antonio, and then blew them out in games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles in another complete sweep as they became the second team in NBA history to sweep the conference playoffs at 11–0, the 1988-1989

being the first. But the Lakers met a snag on their quest to the first NBA sweep in playoff history as they went up against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers, seeded number 1 in the Eastern Conference, had just come out of two straight seven-game series against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. During the first game, the trio of Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo and Eric Snow, coming hot off a long Eastern Conference championship road, beat the Lakers in overtime, showcasing their endurance. The Lakers then took Game 2. Afterwards, Kobe Bryant was quoted as saying he was coming to Philadelphia to cut their hearts out. The Sixers dropped all three games in Philadelphia, giving the Lakers their second straight championship.

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

2001 NBA Finals rosters

Los Angeles Lakers

Philadelphia 76ers

Series summary

Game summaries

Game 1

The Lakers dominated early, in what looked like to be their fourth series sweep. Scoring 16 straight points, the Lakers took a 21–9 lead over the

-led 76ers. Despite this major lead, Iverson began dominating at the half of the 2nd quarter scoring 30 first half points. The 76ers turned the game around and even went up by 15 points during the third quarter before the Lakers started a comeback. Shaquille O'Neal was a major factor in the comeback, scoring 18 points in the quarter. The Lakers played fantastically during the 4th quarter, and Tyronn Lue came off the bench and limited Iverson to merely 3 points and had 3 assists and 2 steals of his own. The game was eventually tied at 94, and when

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

missed two free throws and Eric Snow's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim, the game went to overtime. The Lakers scored the first 5 points in the first half of overtime. Raja Bell then hit a tough layup to answer, followed by Iverson scoring 7 straight points, including a three pointer to give them the lead. Iverson followed up with a step back 2-pointer over Lue which is famously known as he stepped over Lue after hitting the shot. The 76ers finished with a 6 point win to take the first game of the series.

Game 2

Kobe Bryant started off the game with 12 points in the first quarter, while Shaq scored 12 points in the second quarter. Despite their points, the 76ers kept a close lead as Larry Brown ran over 10 plays searching for the right quartet, and the fact that all the Lakers besides Bryant and O'Neal were shooting only at 27%. The Sixers were down by 13 in the fourth quarter, and were making a comeback due to Shaq sitting out with 5 fouls, which helped the 76ers to score 7 straight. Even though the 76ers were within 3 points of the Lakers, the 6 of 16 foul shooting in the fourth quarter put them behind permanently. O'Neal finished with 28 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, and eight blocks, coming close to a

quadruple double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assists ...

. Before the game, Lakers coach

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

had growled at O'Neal, "Don't be afraid to block a shot!" after O'Neal failed to block a shot in Game 1.

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Player statistics

;Los Angeles Lakers , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 46.8 , , .415 , , .333 , , .842 , , 7.8 , , 5.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 24.6 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 31.6 , , .436 , , .526 , , .833 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 32.8 , , .441 , , .467 , , .923 , , 4.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 24.6 , , .294 , , .000 , , .750 , , 5.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 1.4 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .625 , , .333 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 25.4 , , .560 , , .615 , , 1.000 , , 5.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 1.4 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .583 , , .667 , , .000 , , 0.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , , , 2 , , 0 , , 1.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , -! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 45.0 , , .573 , , .000 , , .513 , , 15.8 , , 4.8 , , 0.4 , , 3.4 , , 33.0 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 18.6 , , .300 , , .300 , , .600 , , 3.2 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 3.6 ;Philadelphia 76ers , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 15.8 , , .308 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .167 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 10.8 , , .667 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 28.2 , , .394 , , .000 , , .778 , , 6.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 1.2 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 47.4 , , .407 , , .282 , , .729 , , 5.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.8 , , 0.2 , , 35.6 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 4 , , 12.4 , , .400 , , .500 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , , 2 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 6.2 , , .417 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 41.4 , , .313 , , .444 , , .667 , , 5.4 , , 6.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 41.6 , , .600 , , .000 , , .692 , , 12.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 2.2 , , 16.8 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 1 , , 32.8 , , .407 , , .000 , , .731 , , 4.4 , , 6.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 12.6

Broadcasting

The 2001 NBA Finals was aired in the United States on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, with

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American retired sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he ...

and Doug Collins on play-by-play and color commentary respectively. Albert, who last worked the Finals for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

in , had been rehired by the network in 1999, two years after a

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

led to his dismissal. Albert also began working for

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

during this period, a role he continued until 2021. Collins departed NBC following the series to serve as head coach of the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

Ahmad Rashad Ahmad Rashad (born Robert Earl Moore; November 19, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He was the fourth overall selection of the 1972 NFL Draft, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was known as Bobby Moor ...

served as the studio host in place of

Hannah Storm Hannah Lynn Storen Hicks (born June 13, 1962), known professionally as Hannah Storm, is an American television sports journalist, serving as the anchor of ESPN's ''SportsCenter'' Face to Face. She was also host of the ''NBA Countdown'' pregame s ...

, who took a maternity leave during the finals. Kevin Johnson and

P. J. Carlesimo Peter John Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949) is an American basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster, having worked with ESPN, '' Th ...

served as studio analysts, while Lewis Johnson and Jim Gray served as sideline reporters.

Aftermath

The Lakers won their third straight championship in a four-game sweep of the New Jersey Nets the following year. The Lakers won 58 games in the season, then defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in three games, the San Antonio Spurs in five games, and the Sacramento Kings in seven games before sweeping the Nets in the Finals. , the series remains the 76ers’ last NBA Finals appearance. The Sixers would win only 43 games in the

2001-02 NBA season Increment or incremental may refer to: *Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) *Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming *Incremental computing *Incremental backup, wh ...

, as injuries were the story of their season. Nevertheless, they made the playoffs as the sixth seed, but were defeated by the Boston Celtics in five games. The Celtics themselves came within two games of returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since , but were ousted by the upstart Nets, who made the NBA Finals for the first time, denying a possible Celtics-Lakers final. As for the Sixers, they would never challenge for the title again in the Allen Iverson era, with the team reaching the playoffs only twice for the next four years, winning only one series. Larry Brown later coached the Detroit Pistons to their third championship in the

2004 NBA Finals The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion L ...

, defeating the Lakers 4–1.

References

External links

* * entry about Finals at NBA Encyclopedia
2001 NBA Finals
at basketball-reference.com {{NBA on ESPN Radio National Basketball Association Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

2001 in sports in California 2001 in sports in Pennsylvania 2001 in Los Angeles 2001 in Philadelphia June 2001 sports events in the United States Sports competitions in Philadelphia Sports competitions in Los Angeles