2001 NBA Finals

The 2001 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2000–01 season. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers took on the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers for the championship, with the Lakers holding home-court advantage in a best-of-seven format.

2001 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson 4
Philadelphia 76ers Larry Brown 1
DatesJune 6–15
MVPShaquille O'Neal
(Los Angeles Lakers)
Hall of FamersLakers:
Kobe Bryant (2020)
Shaquille O'Neal (2016)
76ers:
Dikembe Mutombo (2015)
Allen Iverson (2016)
Coaches:
Larry Brown (2002)
Phil Jackson (2007)
Tex Winter (2011)
Officials:
Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern Finals76ers defeat Bucks, 4–3
Western FinalsLakers defeat Spurs, 4–0

The Lakers won the series 4 games to 1. Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal was named the Most Valuable Player of the series.

NBA MVP Allen Iverson 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. However, the Lakers went on to win the next four games, despite being out-shot and out-rebounded in the series. Los Angeles punished Philadelphia with their three-point shooting, which was the key to this series. In Game 3 Robert Horry 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 Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2000–01 NBA season as the defending NBA champions. The club lost a few players to free agency, but they signed veteran players like Isaiah Rider and Horace Grant. The Lakers began the season struggling on and off the court, as they were losing games at the beginning with the Shaq–Kobe feud. 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 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 Lakers began the 2001 NBA Playoffs versus the team against whom they played the previous year in the Western Conference finals, the Portland Trail Blazers. 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, 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 Los Angeles Lakers 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 and Milwaukee Bucks. 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 ball quoted as saying he was coming to Philadelphia to cut their hearts out.[1] The Sixers dropped all three games in Philadelphia, giving the Lakers their second straight championship.

Road to the Finals
Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference champion)Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference champion)
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 z-San Antonio Spurs5824.707–
2 y-Los Angeles Lakers5626.6832
3 x-Sacramento Kings5527.6713
4 x-Utah Jazz5329.6465
5 x-Dallas Mavericks5329.6465
6 x-Phoenix Suns5131.6227
7 x-Portland Trail Blazers5032.6108
8 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4735.57311
9 Houston Rockets4537.54913
10 Seattle SuperSonics4438.53714
11 Denver Nuggets4042.48818
12 Los Angeles Clippers3151.37827
13 Vancouver Grizzlies2359.28035
14 Golden State Warriors1765.20741

2nd seed in the West, 2nd-best league record

 Regular season
Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Philadelphia 76ers5626.683–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5230.6344
3 x-Miami Heat5032.6106
4 x-New York Knicks4834.5858
5 x-Toronto Raptors4735.5739
6 x-Charlotte Hornets4636.56110
7 x-Orlando Magic4339.52413
8 x-Indiana Pacers4141.50015
9 Boston Celtics3646.43920
10 Detroit Pistons3250.39024
11 Cleveland Cavaliers3052.36626
12 New Jersey Nets2656.31730
13 Atlanta Hawks2557.30531
14 Washington Wizards1963.23237
15 Chicago Bulls1567.18342

1st seed in the East, 3rd-best league record

Defeated the (7) Portland Trail Blazers, 3–0 First Round Defeated the (8) Indiana Pacers, 3–1
Defeated the (3) Sacramento Kings, 4–0 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (5) Toronto Raptors, 4–3
Defeated the (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–0 Conference Finals Defeated the (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–3

Regular season series

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

2001 NBA Finals rosters

Los Angeles Lakers
Roster listing
2000–01 Los Angeles Lakers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G/F 8 Bryant, Kobe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Lower Merion HS (PA)
G 2 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Arkansas-Little Rock
F/C 40 Foster, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) UTEP
F 17 Fox, Rick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) North Carolina
F 3 George, Devean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Augsburg
F/C 54 Grant, Horace 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Clemson
G 4 Harper, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Miami (OH)
F 5 Horry, Robert 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Alabama
G 10 Lue, Tyronn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nebraska
F 35 Madsen, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Stanford
F 14 Medvedenko, Slava (IN) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Ukraine
C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 338 lb (153 kg) Louisiana State
G 12 Penberthy, Mike (IN) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) The Master's College
G/F 7 Rider, Isaiah (IN) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UNLV
G 20 Shaw, Brian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) UC Santa Barbara
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2001-02-21

Philadelphia 76ers
Roster listing
2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 19 Bell, Raja 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Florida International
G/F 23 Buford, Rodney 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Creighton
G — Claxton, Speedy  5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Hofstra
C 52 Geiger, Matt 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Georgia Tech
F/C 40 Hill, Tyrone 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Xavier
G 3 Iverson, Allen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Georgetown
F 33 Jones, Jumaine 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Georgia
F 9 Lynch, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina
C 50 MacCulloch, Todd 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Washington
G 8 McKie, Aaron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Temple
F 7 McLeod, Roshown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Duke
C 55 Mutombo, Dikembe 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Georgetown
G 5 Ollie, Kevin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Connecticut
G 4 Sánchez, Pepe 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Temple
G 20 Snow, Eric 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Michigan State
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Series summary
GameDateAway TeamResultHome Team
Game 1Wednesday, June 6Philadelphia 76ers107–101 (OT) (1–0)Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2Friday, June 8Philadelphia 76ers89–98 (1–1)Los Angeles Lakers
Game 3Sunday, June 10Los Angeles Lakers96–91 (2–1)Philadelphia 76ers
Game 4Wednesday, June 13Los Angeles Lakers100–86 (3–1)Philadelphia 76ers
Game 5Friday, June 15Los Angeles Lakers108–96 (4–1)Philadelphia 76ers

Game summaries

Game 1
June 6
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived May 9, 2009)
Philadelphia 76ers 107, Los Angeles Lakers 101 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 34–27, 23–27, 15–17, Overtime: 13–7
Pts: Allen Iverson 48
Rebs: Dikembe Mutombo 16
Asts: Aaron McKie 9		 Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 44
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 20
Asts: Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal 5 each
Philadelphia leads the series, 1–0
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 18,997
Referees:
  • No. 27 Dick Bavetta
  • No. 10 Ron Garretson
  • No. 17 Joe Crawford

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 Allen Iverson-led 76ers. Despite this major lead, Allen 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 Allen 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 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 dominated for the first half of the overtime, scoring 5 points, Raja Bell then hit a tough layup to answer followed by Allen Iverson scoring 7 straight points, including a three pointer to give them the lead followed by and step back 2-pointer over Tyronn Lue which is famously known as he stepped over Lue after hitting the shot. The 76ers finished up with a 6 point win to take the first game of the series.

Game 2
June 8
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 1, 2009)
Philadelphia 76ers 89, Los Angeles Lakers 98
Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 23–24, 20–28, 22–21
Pts: Allen Iverson 23
Rebs: Dikembe Mutombo 13
Asts: Aaron McKie 6		 Pts: Kobe Bryant 31
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 20
Asts: Shaquille O'Neal 9
Series tied, 1–1
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 18,997
Referees:
  • No. 29 Steve Javie
  • No. 7 Bernie Fryer
  • No. 34 Ronnie Nunn

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. Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had growled at O'Neal, "Don't be afraid to block a shot!" after O'Neal failed to block a shot in Game 1.[2]

Game 3
June 10
"Recap". Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2011-07-02.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
Los Angeles Lakers 96, Philadelphia 76ers 91
Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 30–20, 18–21, 23–25
Pts: Kobe Bryant 32
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 12
Asts: Bryant, Horry,
O'Neal, Shaw 3 each		 Pts: Allen Iverson 35
Rebs: Iverson, Mutombo 12 each
Asts: Aaron McKie 8
Los Angeles leads the series, 2–1
First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,900
Referees:
  • No. 15 Bennett Salvatore
  • No. 26 Bob Delaney
  • No. 43 Dan Crawford

Game 4
June 13
"Recap". Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2011-07-02.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
Los Angeles Lakers 100, Philadelphia 76ers 86
Scoring by quarter: 22–14, 29–23, 26–22, 23–27
Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 34
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 14
Asts: Kobe Bryant 9		 Pts: Allen Iverson 35
Rebs: Dikembe Mutombo 9
Asts: Iverson, Snow 4 each
Los Angeles leads the series, 3–1
First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,900
Referees:
  • No. 25 Hugh Evans
  • No. 35 Jack Nies
  • No. 32 Eddie F. Rush

Game 5
June 15
"Recap". Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2011-07-02.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
Los Angeles Lakers 108, Philadelphia 76ers 96
Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 28–21, 31–20, 25–28
Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 29
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 13
Asts: Bryant, Fox 6 each		 Pts: Allen Iverson 37
Rebs: Tyrone Hill 13
Asts: Eric Snow 12
Los Angeles wins the series, 4–1
First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,900
Referees:
  • No. 27 Dick Bavetta
  • No. 7 Bernie Fryer
  • No. 17 Joe Crawford

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Los Angeles Lakers
NBA roster statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kobe Bryant5546.8.415.333.8427.85.81.41.424.6
Derek Fisher5531.6.436.526.8331.22.01.60.29.8
Rick Fox5532.8.441.467.9234.63.81.20.49.8
Horace Grant5524.6.294.000.7505.60.60.41.45.2
Ron Harper308.3.625.333.6671.71.00.30.34.3
Robert Horry5025.4.560.6151.0005.01.20.81.48.4
Tyronn Lue5014.6.583.667.0000.81.41.40.23.6
Mark Madsen201.5.000.000.0000.50.00.00.50.0
Shaquille O'Neal5545.0.573.000.51315.84.80.43.433.0
Brian Shaw5018.6.300.300.6003.22.80.80.03.6
Philadelphia 76ers
NBA roster statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Raja Bell5015.8.308.000.5001.80.82.00.02.6
Rodney Buford304.3.167.000.0002.00.00.00.00.7
Matt Geiger5010.8.667.0001.0001.00.40.20.05.2
Tyrone Hill5528.2.394.000.7786.60.40.01.26.6
Allen Iverson5547.4.407.282.7295.63.81.80.235.6
Jumaine Jones5412.4.400.500.0002.00.20.20.42.0
George Lynch207.0.333.000.0002.50.51.00.01.0
Todd MacCulloch506.2.417.000.7501.40.00.00.02.6
Aaron McKie5541.4.313.444.6675.46.01.20.68.0
Dikembe Mutombo5541.6.600.000.69212.20.40.42.216.8
Kevin Ollie503.0.333.0001.0000.20.20.00.01.0
Eric Snow5132.8.407.000.7314.46.01.60.212.6

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.

As of the 2018–19 season, the series remains the 76ers’ last NBA Finals appearance. The Sixers would win only 43 games in the 2001-02 NBA season, 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 1987, 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, defeating the Lakers 4–1.

References
  1. Associated Press (March 9, 2007). "Kobe visits former school to say hi, 'smell the gym'". ESPN.com.
  2. Heisler, Mark (May 11, 2011). "Phil Jackson's tenure produced the most success and fun we've ever seen". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011.
  • "Official website". Archived from the original on 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2007-05-27.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  • ""Take Two for Tinseltown"". Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2008-05-17.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) entry about Finals at NBA Encyclopedia
  • 2001 NBA Finals at basketball-reference.com
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