Charlie Klein
In what was probably the worst NBA Finals since the Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets in 2001, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Magic 99-86 last night in Orlando en route to the franchise's 15th NBA Championship.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers throughout the season and his exceptional play in the Finals earned him the Bill Russell Finals MVP Award. Bryant jumped up and down like man who had not previously won three championships in his historic NBA career. For the Lakers it ends a seven year title drought that must have felt even longer for many in La La Land.
It was a historic victory for Lakers coach Phil Jackson, as he passed Celtics coach Red Auerbach for the most all-time championships won by a coach, at ten. Now Jackson will be able to wear a championship ring on every finger.
This is the first title that Kobe has won without Shaquille O'Neal. For some reason the entire sporting media made this into a major phenomena criticizing Kobe for never having won it without the Diesel. The Lakers inability to win an NBA championship in my mind had little to do with the fact that they did not have No. 34 in Lakers gold; particularly last season where they were simply outclassed by a better Boston Celtics team. O'Neal commented on his twitter, "Congratulations kobe, u deserve it. You played great . Enjoy it my man enjoy it. And I know what yur sayin rt now "Shaq how my ass taste.' "
No comments:
Post a Comment