ON THIS DAY: Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal Create History, Give Los Angeles Lakers Their Three Own Peat

June 12th marks the 18 year anniversary of the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal‘s three-peat with the Los Angeles Lakers. It remains the only time the Lakers have swept their opponents in the NBA Finals. The Lakers sent the Nets packing 4-0 in the NBA Finals, and since are the last team to three-peat in the NBA.

They had finished the regular season with the joint second-best record in the whole league. While Kobe and Shaq averaged 27 and 25 points per game respectively the only other player with double-digit points was Derek Fisher with 11 points. That’s how much the Lakers relied on their dynamic duo.

Los Angeles Lakers post-season journey

They faced the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. There were no blowouts but the Lakers managed to start the first round with a clean sweep. Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells couldn’t do much to prevent the whitewash.

In the second round, they faced the San Antonio Spurs, who were led by the league MVP Tim Duncan. Spurs stole a game, but the Lakers proceeded to the Conference Finals with a gentleman’s sweep. Duncan was at his best, averaging 29 points and 17 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to stop the Lakers.

In the Conference Finals, the Lakers faced the best regular-season team, the Sacramento Kings. “They were the toughest team, and they were the only team that wasn’t scared of us.” This is what Shaq said about the Kings. No team had tested the Lakers like this so far.

After winning the first game, the Lakers went on to lose back to back games. One more loss would have jeopardized their chances to proceed. The Lakers fought through a 24-point deficit in the first half and won the game by just one point thanks to a buzzer-beater three from Robert Horry. He not only had 14 boards but also went three off five from the three-point line.

They leveled the series, only to lose again. Down 3-2 and one game away from elimination, Kobe and Shaq went ballistic. The Diesel put up 41 points and 17 rebounds while Mamba had 31 points and 11 rebounds. Lakers won by four and were still alive in the series. Game 7 went to overtime. The Kings held a two-point lead with just two minutes remaining but after that, the Lakers took over and won by six.

The Lakers breezed past the Nets in the NBA Finals. Shaq averaged a monstrous 36 points and 12 rebounds in the Finals mismatch and went on to win the Finals MVP.

Kobe and Shaq will go down as arguably one of the best duos to grace the game. Their sheer dominance on both ends of the court was a joy to watch for fans and a nightmare for the opposition. They had their differences off the court but when they were on the court, they were almost unstoppable.