2002 NBA Finals

2002 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson 4 New Jersey Nets Byron Scott 0
Dates	June 5 – 12
MVP	Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
Television	NBC (U.S.)
Announcers	Marv Albert, Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones
Radio network	ESPN
Announcers	Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay
Referees
Game 1: Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson and Jack Nies Game 2: Steve Javie, Bennett Salvatore and Don Vaden Game 3: Dick Bavetta, Dan Crawford and Bob Delaney Game 4: Ted Bernhardt, Bernie Fryer and Eddie F. Rush
Hall of Famers	Lakers: Mitch Richmond (2014) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Tex Winter (2011) Officals: Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern Finals	Nets defeated Celtics 4–2
Western Finals	Lakers defeated Kings 4–3

The 2002 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship series for the 2001–02 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Los Angeles Lakers, champions of the Western Conference and two-time defending NBA champions, and the New Jersey Nets, champions of the Eastern Conference. The Lakers swept the Nets, four games to none, to win the franchise's 14th NBA championship. The 56th edition of the championship series was played between June 5 and June 12 and was broadcast on NBC.

Shaquille O'Neal, who averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in the Finals, was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Lakers coach Phil Jackson won his ninth ring, tying him with Red Auerbach for most all-time. During the series, he surpassed Pat Riley for most career playoffs wins with 156.

Will Lyman narrated the season-ending documentary for NBA Entertainment.

Series summary

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	Wednesday, June 5	Los Angeles Lakers	99-94 (1-0)	New Jersey Nets
Game 2	Friday, June 7	Los Angeles Lakers	106-83 (2-0)	New Jersey Nets
Game 3	Sunday, June 9	New Jersey Nets	103-106 (0-3)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4	Wednesday, June 12	New Jersey Nets	107-113 (0-4)	Los Angeles Lakers

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 NBA Finals in 1985.

Attendance

Game 1 - 18,997

Game 2 - 18,997

Game 3 - 19,215

Game 4 - 19,296

Background

Road to the Finals

Main article: 2002 NBA Playoffs

San Antonio Spurs (Western Conference Champion)		New Jersey Nets (Eastern Conference Champion)
# Western Conference Team W L PCT GB 1 z-Sacramento Kings 61 21 .744 – 2 y-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 3 3 x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 3 4 x-Dallas Mavericks 57 25 .695 4 5 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 50 32 .610 11 6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 12 7 x-Seattle SuperSonics 45 37 .549 16 8 x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 17 9 Los Angeles Clippers 39 43 .476 22 10 Phoenix Suns 36 46 .439 25 11 Houston Rockets 28 54 .341 33 12 Denver Nuggets 27 55 .329 34 13 Memphis Grizzlies 23 59 .280 38 14 Golden State Warriors 21 61 .256 40 3rd seed in the West, 2nd (tied) best league record	Regular season		# Eastern Conference Team W L PCT GB 1 c-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 – 2 y- Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 2 3 x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3 4 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 8 5 x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8 6 x- Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9 7 x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 10 8 x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 10 9 Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 11 10 Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15 11 Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16 12 Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 19 13 New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22 14 Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 23 15 Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 31 1st seed in the East, 5th best league record
Defeated the (6) Portland Trail Blazers, 3–0	First Round		Defeated the (8) Indiana Pacers, 3–2
Defeated the (2) San Antonio Spurs, 4–1	Conference Semifinals		Defeated the (4) Charlotte Hornets, 4–1
Defeated the (1) Sacramento Kings, 4–3	Conference Finals		Defeated the (3) Boston Celtics, 4–2

Regular season series

The Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets split both games in the regular season, each winning on their home court.

FSN West, FSN New York

March 5

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived February 12, 2005)

New Jersey Nets 92, Los Angeles Lakers 101

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

KCAL, FSN New York

April 2

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived February 12, 2005)

Los Angeles Lakers 92, New Jersey Nets 94

Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey

New Jersey Nets

Main article: 2001–02 New Jersey Nets season

Jason Kidd, New Jersey's prized acquisition in the summer of 2001

Entering the 2001–02 season, the New Jersey Nets were enduring a three-year playoff drought and had a 73–141 record over that span. In 1999, the Nets hired Rod Thorn as team president and immediately, he hired the recently retired Byron Scott to coach New Jersey. Thorn then dealt for Stephon Marbury in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, trading Sam Cassell away to the Bucks. Due to the Nets' 31–51 season in 1999–00 season, 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. Despite the reshuffling of the roster and a Rookie of the Year season for Martin, New Jersey struggled, ending the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and were bestowed the 7th pick in the upcoming Draft.

With another lottery pick, Thorn dealt it to the Houston Rockets for draftees Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. The next day, Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guard Jason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury.

With the Princeton offense installed from the coaching staff, the Nets rebounded to a 52–30 (.634) mark, a twenty-six-win improvement from the last season, and clinched the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams and was selected for his fifth All-Star game. He also finished runner-up to San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan in the Most Valuable Player voting. Richard Jefferson was an All-Rookie second team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awarded NBA Executive of the Year.

In the first round of the playoffs, New Jersey survived a scare against the Indiana Pacers, escaping game five in double overtime to advance. It was the Nets' first playoff series win since 1984. They then dismissed the Charlotte Hornets in five games before meeting their Atlantic Division rivals, the Boston Celtics, in the Conference Finals. The Nets and Celtics split the first two games in New Jersey before moving to Boston. In Game 3, the Nets were dominating the Celtics, leading by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter. However, Boston, led by small forward Paul Pierce, then proceeded to outscore New Jersey 41–16 in the final period, rallying to win 94 to 90. Pierce himself scored 19 points, more than the Nets combined in the fourth, to complete the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history.

The Nets rebounded in a 94–92 Game 4 victory, that saw another Boston comeback, albeit one that fell short because Pierce missed crucial free throws late. New Jersey then took control of the series and won the next two games in large fashion to finish off Boston in six games, earning the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance and becoming the third former American Basketball Association (ABA) team to make the Finals (the Spurs and the Pacers being the first two). With averages of 17.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game during the six-game Conference Finals, Kidd become only the fourth player in NBA history to average a triple-double over a course of a series and the second to have at least three.

Los Angeles Lakers

All Star center Shaquille O'Neal averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds in the regular season.

Main article: 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season

In stark contrast to New Jersey, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the season with high expectations, having won the last two NBA championships. In addition, Los Angeles was coming off of 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 and were the first team to go undefeated on the road in the playoffs. Since Phil Jackson had arrived to coach the Lakers in 1999, they had a 123–41 mark in the regular season and a 28–9 record in the postseason.

Amid tensions between co-captains Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in the Pacific Division and earning the third seed in the Western Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won the game MVP trophy in his hometown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The duo appeared on the All-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with a Second-Team All-Defensive Team selection.

Kobe Bryant showed strong poise in the Lakers' run through the playoffs.

The Lakers shot out to another quick start in the playoffs, finishing the Portland Trail Blazers in three games with a Robert Horry game-winner. The San Antonio Spurs were dispatched in five games 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, where Sacramento blew out Los Angeles in Game 3 and led as much as 27 before settling with a 103–90 decision.

Game 4 did not give the Lakers any more hope, as Sacramento led Los Angeles 40–20 at the end of the first quarter and held a lead as large as 26. But, the Lakers staged a furious second-half comeback to win 100–99, punctuated by Horry's buzzer-beating three-point shot. Back in Sacramento for Game 5, the Kings staged some late-game heroics of their own as Mike Bibby nailed a jumper with 8.2 seconds remaining, giving his team not only a 92–91 win, but a 3–2 series advantage.

With their season on the line, the Lakers returned home for Game 6. In a controversial contest, one in which the Lakers attempted 27 free throws in the fourth quarter to Sacramento's 9, 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. The outrage was as such that politician Ralph Nader demanded an investigation. The Lakers prevailed in overtime 112–106 to earn their third straight NBA Finals berth.

Starting Lineups

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ‡

Los Angeles	Position	New Jersey
Derek Fisher	PG	Jason Kidd
Kobe Bryant	SG	Kerry Kittles
Rick Fox	SF	Keith Van Horn
Robert Horry	PF	Kenyon Martin
Shaquille O'Neal	C	Todd MacCulloch

2002 NBA Finals Roster

Los Angeles Lakers

2002 Los Angeles Lakers Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From G 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 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 5 Horry, Robert 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Alabama G 10 Hunter, Lindsey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jackson State F 35 Madsen, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Stanford F/C 6 McCoy, Jelani  (IN) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) UCLA F 14 Medvedenko, Stanislav 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) None C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 338 lb (153 kg) Louisiana State G 23 Richmond, Mitch 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Kansas State G 20 Shaw, Brian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) UC Santa Barbara F/C 52 Walker, Samaki 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Louisville	Head coach Phil Jackson (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) Tex Winter (Southern California) Kurt Rambis (Santa Clara) Frank Hamblen (Syracuse) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2002-02-20

New Jersey Nets

2002 New Jersey Nets Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From G 1 Armstrong, Brandon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Pepperdine C 35 Collins, Jason 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Stanford G 10 Dial, Derrick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Eastern Michigan F 54 Goodrich, Steve 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Princeton G 12 Harris, Lucious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Long Beach F 24 Jefferson, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Arizona G 8 Johnson, Anthony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) C of C G 5 Kidd, Jason (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) California G 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova C 11 MacCulloch, Todd 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Washington F 13 Marshall, Donny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Connecticut F 6 Martin, Kenyon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Cincinnati F 21 Scalabrine, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) Southern California F 50 Slater, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Wyoming F 44 Van Horn, Keith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Utah F/C 34 Williams, Aaron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier	Head coach Byron Scott (Arizona State) Assistant coach(es) Eddie Jordan (Rutgers) Lawrence Frank (Indiana) Mike O’Koren (North Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2002-06-14

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7

June 5 9:00 pm

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived December 4, 2004)

New Jersey Nets 94, Los Angeles Lakers 99
Scoring by quarter: 14–29, 22–19, 27–24, 31–27
Pts: O'Neal 36 Rebs: O'Neal 16 Asts: Bryant 6 TOs: O'Neal 5		Pts: Kidd 23 Rebs: Kidd 10 Asts: Kidd 10 Stls: Horry 3, Kidd 3

Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: #17 Joe Crawford #10 Ron Garretson #35 Jack Nies

Los Angeles's Staples Center sold out for the inaugural game of the 2002 NBA Finals, with nearly 19,000 on hand. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloth to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. The Lakers brought out Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, and Kobe Bryant, who drew the assignment of guarding Kidd. New Jersey head coach Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime Lakers, received a standing ovation.

Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42-19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17–6 to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloth into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third.

" You can't dig yourself a hole, get down by 19 or 20 points and expect to win. We just dug ourselves a hole against the champions. "

—Lucious Harris, Sports Illustrated

New Jersey battled back, coming as close as three several times in the final quarter. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5–8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone.

New Jersey was doomed by their late start and poor shooting. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively. Kidd finished with a triple–double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series.

Game 2

NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7

June 7 9:00 pm

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived December 9, 2004)

New Jersey Nets 83, Los Angeles Lakers 106
Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 22–22, 18–28, 22–29
Pts: O'Neal 40 Rebs: O'Neal 12 Asts: O'Neal 8 TOs: O'Neal 4, Bryant 4		Pts: Kittles 23 Rebs: Kidd 9 Asts: Kidd 7 TOs: Kidd 5

Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: #12 Don Vaden #15 Bennett Salvatore #29 Steve Javie

Game 3

NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7

June 9 9:00 pm

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived July 25, 2008)

Los Angeles Lakers 106, New Jersey Nets 103
Scoring by quarter: 31-23, 21–23, 26–32, 28–25
Pts: Bryant 36 Rebs: O'Neal 11 Asts: Fisher 6 TOs: Bryant 6		Pts: Kidd 30 Rebs: Van Horn 5, Kidd 5 Asts: Kidd 10 TOs: Martin 5

Izod Center, East Rutherford Attendance: 19,215 Referees: #26 Bob Delaney #43 Dan Crawford #27 Dick Bavetta

Game 4

NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7

June 12 9:00 pm

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived July 25, 2008)

Los Angeles Lakers 113, New Jersey Nets 107
Scoring by quarter: 27-34, 31–23, 26–23, 29–27
Pts: O'Neal 34 Rebs: O'Neal 10 Asts: Bryant 8 TOs: Fox 4		Pts: Martin 35 Rebs: Martin 11 Asts: Kidd 12 TOs: Kidd 4

Izod Center, East Rutherford Attendance: 19,296 Referees: Ted Bernhardt Eddie Rush Bernie Fryer

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

New Jersey Nets

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Television and radio broadcasting

The Finals were produced and televised in the United States by NBC. 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 half-time shows with analyst Tom Tolbert. Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay called the four games on ESPN Radio. Hannah Storm hosted the post-game show.

This series was the last broadcast by NBC. In January 2002 the league's broadcast rights were awarded to ABC/ESPN in a six-year deal, which was renewed for an additional eight years in 2007.

At the conclusion of Game 4, NBC presented highlights of the twelve years of their NBA broadcasts; among them the Chicago Bulls' dynasty led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers' current Shaq/Kobe reign, as the credits rolled. NBC also played "Winning It All" by The Outfield, which they had used for the close of their NBA Finals broadcasts from 1992 to 1996. The last image displayed was of an empty gym, showing a basketball bouncing into the background, as "To The Flemish Cap" from the soundtrack to the film The Perfect Storm played. NBC ended the broadcast (and their 12-year run broadcasting NBA basketball) by displaying over the shot the message "Thanks for the memories".

2002 NBA Finals Ratings

Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4
10.6/20	9.1/18	10.2/18	10.8/19

Impact and aftermath

Lakers

The Lakers victory in this year's Finals would also mark the beginning of what would become a successful year for professional sports teams in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The nearby Anaheim Angels would later claim their first World Series championship four months later. It marked the second occurrence that a city/metropolitan area won both NBA and MLB championships in the same calendar year. The last time this occurred was in 1988 when the Lakers won that year's NBA Finals in June; the Dodgers followed suit with a World Series victory four months later. In relation to sports of smaller leagues, the Los Angeles Sparks won the WNBA Finals two months after the Lakers' 2002 Finals victory; the Los Angeles Galaxy won the MLS Cup exactly one week prior to the Angels' World Series victory in October. The successes of Los Angeles area teams led Sporting News magazine to declare Anaheim/Los Angeles as "Best Sports City" in 2003. As of 2015, the Lakers are the last team to pull off a 'three-peat' in North American professional sports.

The Lakers were off to a slow start in the 2002-03 NBA season. By this time, the relationship between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal began to show cracks. Injuries were also starting to slow the Lakers down. Nevertheless the Lakers won 50 games, but would only earn the fifth seed, thereby not earning the home-court advantage. Still, the Lakers took down the fourth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in six games. However, they were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs, who finally earned revenge after their previous two defeats to the Lakers in the 2001 and 2002 NBA playoffs. In Game 5, Robert Horry, a perennial clutch threat in the playoffs, missed a game-winning three that would've given the Lakers a 3-2 lead. The miss eventually led to Horry's free-agent defection to the Spurs the following season.

Nets

The Nets made it back to the Finals in 2003. They won 49 games and the Atlantic Division title, and heading into the Finals they've won ten straight games, two in the six-game first round win over the Milwaukee Bucks, and two four-game sweeps of the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons. However, they still came up short, losing in six games to the Spurs, in the first NBA finals series featuring former ABA teams.

For the first time since 1998 and for only the third time in history, the NBA Finals ended before the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals; this would not happen again until 2011.

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived March 21, 2010)
• "A Sweeping Statement" at the Wayback Machine (archived December 3, 2010): NBA Encyclopedia article about 2002 Finals