2002 NBA Finals

2002 NBA Finals

NBA Finals summary


caption =
year = 2002
runnerup = New Jersey Nets
runnerup_coach = Byron Scott
runnerup_games = 0
champion = Los Angeles Lakers
champion_coach = Phil Jackson
champion_games = 4
date=June 5thJune 12th
MVP = Shaquille O'Neal
(Los Angeles Lakers)
television = NBC (U.S.)
announcers = Marv Albert, Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones
HOFers = Coaches:
Phil Jackson (2007)
radio_network =
radio_announcers =
referees_1 = Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson and Jack Nies
referees_2 = Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore, Don Vaden
referees_3 = Dick Bavetta , Dan Crawford , Bob Delaney
referees_4 = Ted Bernhardt , Bernie Fryer , Eddie F. Rush
ECF result = New Jersey def. Boston 4–2
WCF result = Los Angeles def. Sacramento 4–3

The 2002 NBA Finals was the 56th championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The series started on June 5th, 2002 and ended on June 12, marking the conclusion of the 2002 NBA Playoffs and 2001-02 NBA season. The first two games of the Finals were played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and the other two games were played at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Western Conference champions Los Angeles Lakers swept the
Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in four games in a best-of-seven series. The Lakers became only the third NBA franchise, joining the 1960s Boston Celtics and 1990s Chicago Bulls, to win three straight championships after their 2000 and 2001 victories.

Following the conclusion of Game 4 in New Jersey, Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal, who averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in the Finals, was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player of the Finals for the third consecutive time, joining Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson as the only players with three. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2002/playoffs/news/2002/06/12/shaq_mvp_ap/ CNNSI.com - Shaq, MJ only players to win three straight Finals MVP] Sports Illustrated.com] Lakers coach Phil Jackson won his ninth ring, tying him with Celtics' legendary headman Red Auerbach for most all-time. During the series, he passed coach Pat Riley for most all-time playoffs wins with 156 with nearly 50 fewer losses. [ [http://www.nba.com/finals2002/Jackson_Nears_AllTime_Coachin-46220-277.html Jackson Takes All-Time Lead in Playoff Wins] NBA.com] [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2002/playoffs/news/2002/06/12/jackson_top_ap/ Lakers' Jackson has reached new heights in coaching] Sports Illustrated.com] The Lakers won their 14th championship, three shy of the NBA franchise with most championships, the Boston Celtics.

After twelve seasons, this series was the last broadcast by NBC. Five months earlier, the league's broadcast rights were awarded to ABC/ESPN in a six-year deal.

Recap

East Conference's New Jersey Nets (0) vs. Western Conference's Los Angeles Lakers (4)

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985.

Background

Regular season series

The Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets split both games in the regular season, each winning on their home court. basketballbox
bg=#fff
date = March 5
report = [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220305013 Recap]
team1 = New Jersey Nets |score1=92
team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=101
place = Staples Center, Los Angeles
TV = KCAL
basketballbox
date = April 2
report = [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220403017 Recap]
team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=92
team2 = New Jersey Nets |score2=94
place = Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford
TV = KCAL

New Jersey Nets

Entering the 2001-02 season, Nets were enduring a three-year playoff drought and a 73-141 record over that span. In 1999, the Nets hired Rod Thorn as team president. Almost immediately, he hired Byron Scott to coach New Jersey. He then dealt for Stephon Marbury in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, trading Sam Cassell away to the Bucks. [http://www.nba.com/nets/history/trade_history.html Nets Trade History] NBA.com/nets] Due to the Nets' dismal 31-51 season in 1999-00, they had the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, which they used to select power forward Kenyon Martin out of the University of Cincinnati. The following year with Marbury and Martin, New Jersey were still a mediocre team. Ending up 26-56, they won the 7th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

With yet another lottery pick, Thorn decided to trade it, dealing it to the Houston Rockets for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. The next day, then-Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo announced a franchise shaking trade; the Suns would deal point guard Jason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Marbury. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/suns/2001-06-28-trade.htm Kidd, Marbury primary players in trade] USA Today]

With the core of Kidd, Jefferson and Collins, the Nets rebounded in 2002 to finish 52-30, a twenty-six win improvement from the last season and clinch the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Kidd finished the season with honors such as All-NBA First Team [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/stories/2002-05-01-all-nba.htm Bryant, McGrady are first-time All-NBA selections] USA Today] , All-Defensive first team, [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/stories/2002-04-30-defensive.htm Payton ties mark with ninth All-Defensive slot] USA Today] and an All-Star selection. He also finished runner-up to San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan in the NBA MVP voting. Richard Jefferson was an All-Rookie Team selection.

In the playoffs, New Jersey survived a scare against the Indiana Pacers, winning game five of the best-of-five series in double overtime to win the series. [ [http://www.nba.com/games/20020502/INDNJN/recap.html Weary Kidd Leads Nets in Double OT Classic] NBA.com] They then dismissed the Charlotte Hornets in five games of a best-of-seven series before meeting their Atlantic Division rivals, the Boston Celtics. [ [http://www.nba.com/games/20020515/CHANJN/recap.html No Kidding, Nets Will Contend for East Title] NBA.com] The Nets and Celtics split the first two games in New Jersey before being tested in Boston. In Game 3 however, New Jersey blew a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter and was outscored 41-16 in the period to lose 90-94. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220525002 Pierce sparks Celtics after being down 21] ESPN.com] Celtics' small forward Paul Pierce outscored the Nets himself with 19 of his 28 in the fourth, sparking the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2002/playoffs/news/2002/05/25/nets_celtics_ap/ Nets allow Celtics to pull off biggest comeback ever] Sports Illustrated.com]

The Nets rebounded in Game 4, and won 94-92 to tie the series at 2-2. New Jersey then controlled the series and won the next two games to finish off the Celtics in six games and earned the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance.

Los Angeles Lakers

In stark contrast to New Jersey, LA entered the season with high expectations, having won the last two NBA championships. Since Phil Jackson had arrived to coach the Lakers in 1999, the Lakers had a 123-41 mark in the regular season and a 28-9 record in the playoffs. Los Angeles was coming off having completed a 15-1(.938 winning percentage) run through the 2001 NBA Playoffs, the greatest in NBA history besting the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers 12-1(.923) run. [ [http://www.nba.com/finals2001/best_single_season_wins.html?nav=ArticleList A Playoffs for the Ages] NBA.com] The 2001 Lakers also were the first team to go undefeated on the road in the playoffs.

Amid tensions between the Laker captains Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles had another stellar season, finishing second in the Pacific Division behind instate rivals Sacramento Kings and earned the third seed in the Western Conference of the 2002 NBA Playoffs. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won MVP in hometown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [ [http://grandline.smackjeeves.com/comics/331401/bad-place-bad-time-185-7/ West Wins! Kobe Stakes Claim in All-Star Lore] NBA.com] The duo appeared on the 1st Team All-NBA and Bryant was honored on the 2nd Team All-Defensive Team.

The Lakers had another strong start in the playoffs, finishing the Portland Trail Blazers in three due to a Robert Horry series-ending shot. The San Antonio Spurs were finished in five before Los Angeles met their biggest challenge in the duration of their championship reign in the Western Conference Finals: the Sacramento Kings. With the best record in the West, the Kings held home court advantage against the Lakers and split the first two games in ARCO Arena before the series shifted to Staples Center.Sacramento blew out Los Angeles in Game 3, leading as much as 27; eventually winning 103-90. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220524013 Kings' big lead proves too much for Lakers] ESPN.com] Game 4 looked to be the same, with the Kings leading the Lakers 40-20 at the end of the 1st quarter and as large as 26. The Lakers would then stage a furious comeback in the 2nd half to win on a Robert Horry buzzer beater, 100-99. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220526013 Lakers tie series with Kings on late 3-pointer] ESPN.com] In Game 5, the Kings staged some magical late-game heroics of their own back in Sacramento with a Mike Bibby shot with 8.2 seconds remaining. A Kobe Bryant heave fell short at the buzzer as the Kings took a 3-2 series lead. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220528023 Bibby's shot falls, Bryant's misses as Kings win] ESPN.com] With their season on the line, the Lakers returned home for Game 6.

In a controversial game, one in which Los Angeles attempted 27 free throws in the 4th quarter to Sacramento's 4, O'Neal had one of the most dominant performances of his career with 41 points and 17 rebounds to force a Game 7 in ARCO Arena. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=220531013 O'Neal rises to the occasion; Lakers force Game 7] ESPN.com] The outrage was as such that politician Ralph Nader demanded an investigation. [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91461371&ft=1&f=1070 Ralph Nader Cries Foul Against the NBA] [National Public Radio|NPR] .com] The Lakers prevailed on the Kings court in an overtime thriller 112-106 and won the series 4-3 earn their third straight NBA Finals berth.

Television and radio broadcasting

The Finals were produced and televised in the United States on NBA on NBC broadcasting. Marv Albert provided play-by-play calling. Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones handled color duties. Jim Gray and Lewis Johnson roamed the sidelines for the Lakers and Nets' respectively. Bob Costas hosted pregame and postgame shows with analysts Tom Tolbert and Ahmad Rashad. Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay called the four games on NBA on ESPN Radio.

As the conclusion of Game 4, the credits rolled to to a final montage was a highlight package from twelve years of broadcasts. Shown were historic moments in NBA history, including the Chicago Bulls' dynasty led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the retirement of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers' new Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant reign.The final image was an empty gym, showing a basketball sadly bouncing alone, and the message "Thanks for The Memories. NBA on NBC (1990-2002)". After that, NBA broadcasting rights went to ABC and TNT.

Radio

2002 NBA Finals Roster

Los Angeles Lakers


{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%; #ifeq:NAMESPACE|ns:10|width:100%;"
-! colspan="2" style="background-color: #6137ad; color: #ffcd35; text-align: center;" | 2002 Los Angeles Lakers Finals roster
- style="background-color: #ffcd35;color: #6137ad; text-align: center;"! Players !! Coaches
-
valign="top" | #ifeq:NAMESPACE|ns:10
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From
- NBA roster footer
head_coach =
* (college|North Dakota)
asst_coach =
*
roster_url = http://www.nba.com/lakers/stats/2001/index.html
transaction_url =
accessdate = 2008-06-18

New Jersey Nets

{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%; #ifeq:NAMESPACE|ns:10|width:100%;"
-! colspan="2" style="background-color: #6137ad; color: #ffcd35; text-align: center;" | 2002 Los Angeles Lakers Finals roster
- style="background-color: #ffcd35;color: #6137ad; text-align: center;"! Players !! Coaches
-
valign="top" | #ifeq:NAMESPACE|ns:10
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From
- NBA roster footer
head_coach =
* (college|Arizona State)
asst_coach =
*
roster_url = http://www.nba.com/lakers/stats/2001/index.html
transaction_url =
accessdate = 2008-06-18
Head Coach: Byron Scott

Kenyon Martin
Jason Kidd
Keith Van Horn
Todd MacCulloch
Richard Jefferson
Kerry Kittles |
Lucious Harris
Aaron Williams
Jason Collins
Anthony Johnson
Brian Scalabrine
Brandon Armstrong
Donny Marshall
Steve Goodrich

chedule

*Game 1 - June 5, Wednesday 9:00pm ET @Los Angeles, Los Angeles 99, New Jersey 94: "Los Angeles leads series 1-0"
*Game 2 - June 7, Friday 9:00pm ET @Los Angeles, Los Angeles 106, New Jersey 83: "Los Angeles leads series 2-0"
*Game 3 - June 9, Sunday 8:30pm ET @New Jersey, Los Angeles 106, New Jersey 103: "Los Angeles leads series 3-0"
*Game 4 - June 12, Wednesday 9:00pm ET @New Jersey, Los Angeles 113, New Jersey 107: "Los Angeles wins series 4-0"

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985. As of yet, the other playoff series are still running on a 2-2-1-1-1 site format.

The Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets winning all four games, although the only game that was not close was a 106-83 win in Game 2.

Trivia

*The NBA Finals wordmark logo was removed to a championship trophy logo attach next to the NBA logo. And the first and only Finals that both teams had a red white and blue ribbon on the uniforms.
*At the Lakers victory parade Mark Madsen did a rather novel dance, that was even mentioned by George W. Bush when the Lakers visited the White House.
*Seven Lakers were on all three championship teams from 2000 to 2002: Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Brian Shaw and Devean George.
*Horry joined Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper as the only players to be apart of a three-peat with one team and back-to-back titles with another. Rodman and Harper were starters on the Bulls teams that won titles from 1996-98. Rodman's back-to-back came with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 & '90, while Harper was a member of the Lakers title teams in 2000 & '01.

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/finals2002/ Official website]
* [http://www.nba.com/history/finals/20012002.html NBA History]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • NBA Finals MVP Award — Trophäe Der Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award wird seit 1969 an den besten Spieler der Finalserie der National Basketball Association vergeben. Im Jahr 2009 entschied NBA Commissioner David Stern die Trophäe nach Bill Russell zu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • NBA Finals — Logo of the NBA Finals. Further information: List of NBA champions The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986. The series is played… …   Wikipedia

  • NBA Finals — National Basketball Association (NBA) Sportart Basketball Gründungsjahr 1946 erste Saison 1946/47 Mannschaften 30 Teams …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • NBA Finals MVP — Der Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award wird seit 1969 an den besten Spieler der Finalserie der National Basketball Association vergeben. Im Jahr 2009 entschied NBA Commissioner David Stern die Trophäe nach Bill Russell zu benennen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award — Der Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award wird seit 1969 an den besten Spieler der Finalserie der National Basketball Association vergeben. Im Jahr 2009 entschied NBA Commissioner David Stern die Trophäe nach Bill Russell zu benennen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 2002 NBA Playoffs — The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association s 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held best of 5 first round series; next year s postseason would see those series expanded to a… …   Wikipedia

  • NBA Finals MVP Award — National Basketball Association Finals Most Valuable Player Award Le trophée NBA Finals Most Valuable Player récompense le joueur ayant montré le meilleur jeu durant les Finales NBA. Cette récompense revient presque toujours à un joueur de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award — National Basketball Association Finals Most Valuable Player Award Le trophée NBA Finals Most Valuable Player récompense le joueur ayant montré le meilleur jeu durant les Finales NBA. Cette récompense revient presque toujours à un joueur de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • NBA Finals 2009 — Logo der Finals 2009 Die NBA Finals der Saison 2008/09 in der nordamerikanischen Basketball Profiliga NBA wurden ab dem 4. Juni zwischen den Orlando Magic (Sieger der Eastern Conference) und den Los Angeles Lakers (Sieger der Western Conference)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 2004 NBA Finals — NBA Finals summary caption = year = 2004 runnerup = Los Angeles Lakers runnerup coach = Phil Jackson runnerup games = 1 champion = Detroit Pistons champion coach = Larry Brown champion games = 4 date=June 6 June 15 MVP = Chauncey Billups (Detroit …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”