All those stops have one thing in common: Across 63 years, no Kings team has played in the NBA Finals. If Shaq would have went down, that would have been an issue. Chris was good in those areas, but I think he had a lot of confidence in Mike. Richmond: We were trying to get them in foul trouble and make the refs call fouls and slow the game down. The fairytale ending for the Kings turned into their worst nightmare. In these days, he was our quote-unquote stretch 4. It’s in Phil’s nature to tweak and to taunt. In the first season, we’re not going to be asked to be measured on wins and losses, we’re going to be asked on Do we have a culture, do we have a system, are we playing defense? Pollard: It was just dejection. Basically, we won that game and we just ran out of time. Fox: They had to set the tone for the season. I didn’t see that. It went off them. We all know the referees are clearly favoring the Lakers, this was the play that to this day is remembered by all Kings fans as complete and udder B.S. Adelman: All I have to say is the elbow from Kobe to Mike’s mouth and Shaq taking Lawrence Funderburke down. All that in microseconds. The rest of the department, we had always heard the stories that the team has to lose a few tough ones and that’s how they win the big one. When you compare how much fans know about their members in Congress, or their state legislature, or corporate crimes, there’s no comparison compared to what they know about the game. You start to believe your hype. They were in 2001. Lakers Vs. Kings in 2002 WCF: A Historical Look Back, Allen Iverson’s Trash Talking Duel with the 1996-1997 Chicago Bulls, Paul Pierce Says LeBron James May Get Disqualified From the G.O.A.T. Voisin: Game 6 was the most poorly officiated big game that I’ve ever covered, and I started covering the league in ’81. Phil Jackson: It was a struggle just to stay in that ballgame. Reynolds: That particular quarter was just remarkable. O’Neal: During the national anthem, I like to look at people’s eyes. Phil Jackson: We were a little bit undermanned. Throughout the season, none of the Kings' players played a full season via suspension or injury, but they still managed to post a 59–23 reco… They would just get so wound up. “North versus South. I missed that call, and if I had perfection in the game, I would’ve called the first foul and I think it would’ve been Webber’s sixth foul. The stress level was high. 2002 Game 6 Vs. Kings. We were kind of complacent because we’d beaten them twice in the playoffs. But that game was an abomination. They wanted to go at a little faster pace than us. One of the most controversial endings and fourth quarters the viewers have seen. Zero. or i'm wondering if kings's starting 5 (mike,doug,peja,cwebb,vlade) will still be on the kings roster right now. The Lakers took it to us. NBA. And they had been riding that roller coaster for a few years already. Yet, with all the chatter, the Lakers managed to escape game 1 with a 106-99 victory, the dynamic duo of Shaq and Kobe combined for 56 points, and it seemed as this might be another one of those Laker playoffs runs. We needed that burst of energy for our team. Phil Jackson: Game 3, they just shot lights out in the first half. Led by perennial All-Stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, they swept the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals and forever put their stamp on history. They tried to get me in foul trouble. Points – James 22, Kuzma 19, Davis 15. And you’re thinking, Oh my God. Another no call for the Kings came with 7:52 left in the game, Bobby Jackson is slicing and dicing his way to the rim and is taking contact left, and right, no call was made, ball out of bounds, possession is still Sacramento, But you can tell this is not going Sacramento’s way at all. I figured we were going to do it at home. At the same time, I was scared. We’re watching Vlade guarding Shaq like he’s guarded him all year and they’re calling fouls on him. He was a huge hit in Sacramento. J.A. The Kings eventually awarded Bibby a seven-year contract for $80 million. He was a great passer — not only that, the offense was incredible. Shaq ALONE outshot the Kings in Free throw attempts 10-9. But Sacramento surprised the Lakers with an impressive 103-90 victory, leading by as many as 27 points as the Lakers floundered to a 36 percent shooting performance. It’s the best place to play in the league at that time. He got caught up in all that stuff. Coach Dave Cowens was there and I said, ‘I’ll give it a chance.’ And actually, I really enjoyed my two years in Charlotte. This quote from Bryant appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News. Horry: If you win the first game, it puts a lot of doubt in some guys’ minds if you can do it or not. That would have been game over. It’s a foul when someone loses possession of the ball due to contact. Lakers 2002 NBA Championship information including 2000 Playoffs fixture, roster, pictures, stats and Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe Bryant performance We use cookies : we use our own and third party cookies to improve your browsing experience on our website, to show you personalized and relevant ads and to analyze our website traffic. The 2002–03 NBA season was the Lakers' 55th season in the National Basketball Association, and 43rd in the city of Los Angeles. Get fouled. Christie: It shouldn’t have counted. It was nasty. They win another title. And then you’re watching Lawrence Funderburke try to do anything he can possibly do when he’s outweighed by 100 pounds, because we’re down to him and Chris Webber. Wilbon: I don’t believe that David Stern called anybody or that my bosses at the network called anybody. That was like an eternity to our team. Cleamons: Horry became one of our weapons at the 4 spot. Meanwhile, Bryant’s sickness kept him from practicing before Game 3 in L.A. and Sacramento still didn’t have Stojakovic, who had suffered a sprained ankle against Dallas in the previous round. If he wasn’t really hurt, I would put all my money that Peja would never miss that shot. And there was no whistle, no call. 19. Vlade wasn’t a big, overpowering guy. The guys were upset about it. Kevin Johnson (former NBA All-Star and current mayor of Sacramento): Anytime you get that close to an NBA Finals and lose, it’s going to sting. Filed Under: NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, NBA Playoffs, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Ralph Nader, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Rick Adelman, Mike Bibby, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, oral history. Horry: I was designing to be out there because I’m always going to go for the 3 to win. Turkoglu: He was really hurt at that time. The Lakers didn’t have anybody who could get his own shot other than Kobe and Shaq. That kind of ruined it for me because I was having a good game, maybe one of the best games of my career in the playoffs. Pollard: Rivalries are born from teams that play each other a lot. That ball did not go off us. They were good. He literally came back weighing closer to 400. 12. I don’t believe any of that, because it would get out. They knew when they were playing against us, in my opinion, that that was the championship. Dallas and Sacramento were playing exciting ball. He seemed to struggle that series. I’m processing in my mind to start to call that foul, and if I call it, it’s an away-from-the-play foul, because it’s like a foul off the ball. Pollard: Every once in a while, I’d go in and try to get out of Shaq’s way, but he’d just find me and knock me over anyway and still dunk it. It was kind of like an unwritten law in preseason, especially the last preseason game — veterans usually play a couple of minutes and chill out for a quarter and sit out the rest of the game. I said, “I’d rather not say.” He said, “Tell me, Ted.” I said, “You know me, Ed. If it was five feet over, it would have went to one of our guys. After working all season to obtain home-court advantage, the Kings lost that edge in less than three hours in Game 1 of the 2002 Western finals. It was the momentum change. Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by trodgers, Feb 19, 2019. We had a healthy respect, but didn’t show it. It’s been consistent.’”. The Lakers were the ones taking it to the hoop and they were taking it to the hoop time after time after time. But it’s the pressure. I didn’t play because of the money. He was like: Big fella, I need you tomorrow. The year before that, they sent Corliss Williamson to Toronto for Christie. 2001-2002 Los Angeles Lakers Roster Composition Selected via Draft Derek Fisher was selected as the #24 pick in the First Round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s very good at hiding what he really wants. It’s crazy to think that with all these calls going the Lakers way, and how poorly the Kings shot throughout, it was still in their grasp. In overtime, Christie missed badly on a crucial 3-pointer. Don’t think about it. They had home-court advantage, more talent, more threats. Criminals will step on anybody’s head to get out of the water, to get out of the pool … It didn’t surprise me or quite honestly concern me, because I know my own character, I know who I am — my résumé is more than a little bit stronger than Tim Donaghy’s.26. He wouldn’t create any contact so that Vlade could flop off of him. Madsen: To me, there were moments where it was kind of like, Man, these guys are really good. Man, it was just fun. Pollard: I think [Doug] was in his own head. You shoot 27 free throws in one quarter? And neither is Samaki Walker.19. But that just struck me. Divac: Basically, free throws cost us the game. Phil Jackson: It ended up being the free throw line that made the difference. How many players’ careers would have been different? Delaney: Shaq should’ve been to the line a lot more than he was because he would go through hits, where some other players would have a flutter of the ball, or maybe couldn’t go through it. Delaney: I know when Divac fouled out, that became a big rally cry. They were going to beat the Nets that year. They’re practiced second-guessers and they’re right very often. Vlade Divac (center, Kings): Chris is one of the best players I’ve ever had a chance to play with. I quit.’ And then I realized I’m going to screw the deal with Kobe and Shaq and Dr. Jerry Buss and went to Charlotte for a couple days. I remember saying, “You called a foul on me?” And my nose was bleeding, and I blew some of my blood out onto the court just to show them. Voisin: Doug was just frozen. For whatever reason, he was on the bench. Turner: Vlade, he knew how to play. He didn’t have to reach up. Christie: He seemed like himself. I mean it was loud. As the Western Conference Finals began, the Kings were listed as underdogs to advance to the Finals, a slight to Sacramento’s impressive season so-far but there were two and eventually three things the Kings were missing. They ended up bringing the best out of each other. With game 6 being completely ruined by bad officiating, the Kings had one thing to look forward to was a Game 7 at Home, which to the Sacramento Bee’s beat writer for the Kings Mark Kreidler called “The Worst consolation prize ever.”. One title does that. Heisler: They managed to scratch their way back into the game and they’re coming and coming and coming. I thought for the team to work so hard to be the no. My boss at the time was Troy Hanson, who was director of media relations. Kings fend off Shaq, Kobe to even West finals. I’ve been retired five years now. Doug Christie (guard, Kings): One through 5 on our team, everyone could handle the ball, pass the ball, shoot the ball, understood how to set picks and screens and roll and cut. Game 5 goes to the Kings. 3. Tough Scene for the kings. Me and Scot, we fouled out very quickly, but you can’t do anything about it. If we beat these guys, we’re going to kill the New Jersey Nets. It’s bad enough that the Lakers have money to buy good players more than the Kings, now you’re gonna rig the system even further? Nobody’s ever done that in the history of the NBA. Adelman said this to the Associated Press. It didn’t matter what you did, he would shoot the ball great. It was about them beating us year after year and we had to stand up for ourselves. [But] if I were in Jerry West’s seat, I would do the same thing. They had earned home court throughout the playoffs, and had dominated the Lakers for long stretches of their seven-game war. Delaney: The referees want to get it right, the fans want it right, and obviously the players and coaches. It was ugly. Early on in my career, I would probably be upset and mad, but we had such a great team chemistry, we kind of relied on each other and we kind of respected what Coach wanted with his playing time and decision-making. And Jack Nies awarded them the ball and we were right there, all of us coaches on the bench were right there. Phil Jackson: Well, that’s the way Kobe rolls. 2. Reviewing the calls: Lakers-Kings Game 6 by Roland Beech, Founder 82games.com ... notably the "infamous" game six of the 2001-2002 playoffs between the Lakers and the Kings. Christie: When I ran out at a player, I found that when you stick your hand out sometimes, if you’re really not going to deter the shot, sometimes you should just duck underneath him and run past him. Coach Rick Adelman was animated telling the Sacramento Bee, “You tell me how the game went, Our big guys get called for 20 fouls, and Shaq only gets 4?” Webber also chipped in saying, “I won’t forget” when it came to bad officiating and Kobe Bryant knocking down Mike Bibby. During the offseason, the Kings signed free agent Keon Clark and later on in December signed Jim Jackson. So we showed that the first game. Overall, I didn’t think anybody got hosed or anything like that. It was a powerful moment from many different standpoints. They had talent. O’Neal averaged 12.1 free throw attempts per game during the 58 playoff games that encompassed the Lakers’ three-peat. Nader: Once the fans lose respect for the referees, the game is weakened, obviously. Now everything is rolling for the Kings, they recovered from the Robert Horry incident, they overcame the Lakers in Arco to take care of game 5, now all they Kings have to do is win game 6 to advance to the NBA Finals! This is the Lakers. Cohn: [A championship] would have been the biggest thing in Sacramento since the end of World War II, I think. Page 1 of 2 1 2 Next > trodgers Administrator Staff Member. Devin Blankenship (web content coordinator, Kings): After we lost Game 7, we’re still at the practice facility and it’s a late night. Who does that? Brown: Officials are going to miss calls, like an out-of-bounds call, stuff like that happens. There were so many things that could happen every time he turned around. Pollard: Everybody looked up to [Divac]. But for most of us, it was just going about trying to do something special.5. And Turkoglu chipped in with 14 in Peja’s place. He said, Come on, J. They’ve got to beat us first. If we couldn’t keep it close, they were really hard to snatch that lead from. It was a way of kind of diverting attention away from Shaq or some of the players that would get harassed. That’s it. You always want to go in and strike that first blow. Sacramento stumbled in Game 7 and the rest is history. Divac: It’s a playoff series, you just have to move forward. Live with it.”27. And I’m not saying it was anything malicious, but it’s like, “Hey, the mind can wonder a little bit, right?”. Brown: I believe somebody would go that far. It seemed at crunch time, he was the one guy that wanted to take the shot for Sacramento.13, 13. We had to start shedding some salary, get in line with the league’s CBA. The intensity is so great, your mind’s working overtime. We’re going to foul him.” They are going to Hack-a-Shaq. At this point of his career, nobody was calling him “Big Shot Rob” yet. Divac: The chemistry we had on and off the court was amazing. Previous Season. O’Neal: When you flopped, that means you fear me, so when I smell blood, I was going to attack and that’s all Vlade and Scot and them tried to do. Shaw: Sacramento could have been a different story had the Lakers not been comprised of Kobe, Phil, and Shaq. Kobe and Shaq combined for 52 points in Game 4, but Horry (who finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists) was the Lakers’ best all-around player. We were used to Stojakovic. Peja Stojakovic (forward, Kings): We went through Chris and Vlade. They were the best team, but they were at their best when they were pounding it in to Shaq. Our guys aren’t scoring and he’s not fouling out. The only thing that can beat us is a 3. Time heals and there are so many different elements here. The Lakers won a Game 7 on the road. When you stick your hand up, it kind of gives them something to judge off of. Vitti: It’s hard for me to believe someone would do that. Pollard: He didn’t have to reach down. I also don’t miss doing what I had to do to get those paychecks.” The only thing I do miss is that adrenaline rush. Yeah, you get the ball the hell away from Shaquille O’Neal in that situation or you’re going to get a dunk and foul most likely, so get it out of there. You saw the replay; it’s irrelevant. Well, that’s the way he sees it. Mike Bibby, who played nearly the whole quarter, shot a whopping two free throws. Turkoglu was really a force. Delaney: I’ve seen elbows thrown; to me that was not a thrown elbow. It was a pretty loud arena even during a timeout. You know the rules. Cohn: In all likelihood, there might have been a more accelerated attempt to put [a vote for a new arena] on the ballot [had the Kings won a title in 2002]. With 43 seconds left down three, Bibby makes a nice hesitation move to the rim on Kobe Bryant, Horry and Bryant essentially both foul Bibby on his way up, the referee does not even reach for his whistle let alone make the right call to send the Kings point guard to the foul line. They just played their hearts out in this series and it just seemed like they had their hearts ripped right out of them. Nba cities that phil hasn ’ t get over the hump third straight NBA title going with. 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