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The 2001 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2000-01 National Basketball Association season. The Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference took on the Philadelphia 76ers of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Lakers holding home court advantage. The series is played under a best-of-seven format, so the first team to collect four game victories wins the series. Image File history File links NBAFinals01Logo. ... Image File history File links NBAFinals01Logo. ... The 2000-01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. ... The Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Los Angeles, California. ... The Western Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, and organized in three divisions of five teams each. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, and organized in three divisions of five teams each. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... There are several different playoff formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games. ...

The Lakers won the series 4 games to 1. Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal was named the Most Valuable Player of the series. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Shaquille Rashaun ONeal (pronounced shak-KEEL) (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... The NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award is presented to the National Basketball Association (NBA) player in the NBA Finals that is seen as contributing the most to the series. ...

Allen Iverson scored 48 points in his only ever NBA finals victory, the Sixers took Game 1 in a stunning upset 107-101 in OT. But the Lakers won the last 4 despite being outshot and outrebounded in the series, their excellent 3-point shooting was the key to this series. In Game 3 Robert Horry hit a clutch 3-pointer in the last minute and the next 2 games the Lakers used hot 3-point shooting to build big leads and held off late Sixer comebacks in Game 4 and 5 pulling away for double digit wins to capture the title. Robert Horry (born August 25, 1970 in Harford County, Maryland) is an American National Basketball Association basketball player. ...

Broadcasters: NBC; Marv Albert (play-by-play) and Doug Collins (color commentator) The NBA on NBC was a weekly presentation of National Basketball Association games on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) from 1990 to 2002. ... Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig on June 12, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American television and radio sportscaster, honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and is commonly referred to as the voice of basketball. ... For the Canadian journalist and Holocaust denier see Doug Collins (journalist) Paul Douglas Collins (born July 28, 1951 in Christopher, Illinois), better known as Doug Collins, is a former NBA basketball player and announcer who has also been the head coach of a number of NBA teams. ...

Series scoring summary

The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers. In baseball, the totality of a game is summarized in a line score, or more verbosely in a box score. ...

• *denotes a game that required overtime.

Overtime is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport in order to bring the game to a decision and avoid declaring the contest a tie or draw. ...

2001 NBA Finals Roster

2001 Los Angeles Lakers

Head Coach: Phil Jackson
Shaquille O'Neal | Kobe Bryant | Derek Fisher | Rick Fox | Horace Grant | Isaiah Rider | Ron Harper | Brian Shaw | Robert Horry | Mike Penberthy | Stanislav Medvedenko | Tyronn Lue | Devean George | Greg Foster | Mark Madsen | Philip Douglas Phil Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. ... Shaquille Rashaun ONeal (pronounced shak-KEEL) (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Kobe Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Rick Fox Ulrich Alexander (Rick) Fox (born July 24, 1969 in Toronto, Canada) is an actor and former professional basketball player. ... Horace Junior Grant (born July 4, 1965 in Augusta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player. ... Isaiah J.R. Rider (born March 12, 1971 in Oakland, California) is a former NBA basketball player, who played from 1993–2002. ... Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964 in Dayton, Ohio) is a former professional basketball player whose career spanned from 1986 to 2001 with four teams in the National Basketball Association. ... Brian K. Shaw (born March 22, 1966 in Oakland, California) is a former professional basketball player. ... Robert Horry (born August 25, 1970 in Harford County, Maryland) is an American National Basketball Association basketball player. ... Mike Penberthy (born November 29, 1974 in Los Gatos, California), is an American professional basketball player. ... Stanislav (Slava) Medvedenko (born April 4, 1979 in Karapyshi, Kiev Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player currently with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association. ... Tyronn Jamar Lue (born on May 3, 1977 in Mexico, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. Lue attended Raytown High School in Missouri. ... Devean Jamar George (born August 29, 1977 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. His position is small forward. ... Greg Foster (born: April 4, 1958) in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America was a hurdling athlete. ... Mark Ellsworth Mad Dog Madsen (born January 28, 1976 in Walnut Creek, California) is an American professional basketball player for the NBAs Minnesota Timberwolves. ...

2001 Philadelphia 76ers

Head Coach: Larry Brown
Allen Iverson | Dikembe Mutombo | Aaron McKie | Eric Snow | Tyrone Hill | George Lynch | Matt Geiger | Rodney Buford | Jumaine Jones | Todd MacCulloch | Kevin Ollie | Roshown Mcleod | Raja Bell | Pepe Sanchez | Anthony Miller | Larry Brown For other people of the same name, see Larry Brown (disambiguation). ... Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia[1]), nicknamed A.I. and The Answer, is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association. ... Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo, more commonly known as Dikembe Mutombo (born June 25, 1966), is a basketball player in the NBA, playing at the position of center for the Houston Rockets. ... Aaron Fitzgerald McKie (born October 2, 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. McKie is a combo guard, playing at either point guard or shooting guard. ... Eric Snow (born April 24, 1973 in Canton, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Snow began his basketball career at Canton McKinley High School, where he played with classmate and former NBA player Michael Hawkins. ... Tyrone Hill (born March 19, 1968 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American former National Basketball Association player who usually played power forward. ... There have been several well-known people named George Lynch, including: George Lynch (musician) George Lynch (basketball player) George Lynch (race car driver) This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Matt Geiger (September 10, 1965 in Salem, MA) is a former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. ... Rodney Alan Buford (born November 2, 1977, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American professional basketball player. ... Jumaine Lanard Jones (born February 10, 1979, Cocoa, Florida) is a professional basketball player for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA. His position is small forward, but he plays power forward occasionally. ... Todd Carlyle MacCulloch (born January 27, 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a former professional basketball player in the NBA. A Winnipeg, Manitoba native, the 70, 280 lb. ... Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972 in Dallas, Texas) is a professional basketball player currently with the NBAs Philadelphia 76ers. ... Raja Bell (born September 19, 1976 in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands) is a basketball shooting guard who currently plays for the Phoenix Suns. ... Pepe Sánchez playing for the Golden State Warriors Juan Ignacio Sánchez, also known as Pepe Sánchez (born May 8, 1977 in Bahía Blanca) is an Argentine professional basketball player, and point guard for Argentinas Olympic champion basketball team. ... Anthony Miller may refer to: Anthony Miller (basketball) Anthony Miller (football player) Category: ...

Background

Main article: 2001 NBA Playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers enter the 2000-2001 NBA Season as the defending NBA Champions. The club lost a few key stars to free agency, but they manage to sign up key veteran players like Isaiah Rider and Horace Grant. The Lakers began the season struggling on and off the court, as they were losing key 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 look back as the team close out the season on a 8 game winning streak, thus finishing the season 56-26 and closing out as the #2 seed in the West behind the San Antonio Spurs. The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Associations 2000-01 season. ... The Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Los Angeles, California. ... Isaiah J.R. Rider (born March 12, 1971 in Oakland, California) is a former NBA basketball player, who played from 1993–2002. ... Horace Junior Grant (born July 4, 1965 in Augusta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player. ... The so-called Shaq-Kobe feud refers to bitter rivalry between former National Basketball Association (NBA) teammates Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. ...

The Lakers begin the 2001 NBA Playoffs versus the team against whom they battled thick in thin the previous year in the Conference Finals, the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers were a team that struggle throughout the season but battled back to claim the 7th seed. Experts believe this series was to become a full 5 game series, but it wasn't even close as the Lakers swept the 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 last year, 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 #1 seed San Antonio Spurs, who were expected to take the Lakers to six or seven games. But it was still all to easy for the Lakers as they took games 1 & 2 in San Antonio then blew them out in games 3 & 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. The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Associations 2000-01 season. ... The Portland Trail Blazers are a National Basketball Association team based in Portland, Oregon. ... The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team which is based in Sacramento, California. ... The Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Los Angeles, California. ...

But the Los Angeles Laker met a snag on their quest to the first NBA Sweep in playoff history as they went up against Allen Iverson and the big-hearted Philadelphia Sixers. The Sixers, seeded #1 in the east, had come out of two straight 7 game series'. During the first game, the tandem of Iverson, Dikembe Mutumbo, Eric Snow, coming hot off a long eastern conference championship road, beat the Lakers during overtime, showcasing their endurance.

The Lakers would then take Game 2. Afterwards, superstar Kobe Bryant was quoted he was coming to Philly to cut their hearts out. The Sixers would drop the next 2 games in Philadelphia, return to Los Angeles and lose once more, giving the Lakers their second straight championship.

Schedule

• Game 1 - June 6, Wednesday , 9:00pm et @Los Angeles, Philadelphia 107, Los Angeles 101 (OT): Philadelphia leads series 1-0
• Game 2 - June 8, Friday , 9:00pm et @Los Angeles, Los Angeles 98, Philadelphia 89: Series tied 1-1
• Game 3 - June 10, Sunday , 8:30pm et @Philadelphia, Los Angeles 96, Philadelphia 91: Los Angeles leads series 2-1
• Game 4 - June 13, Wednesday , 8:30pm et @Philadelphia, Los Angeles 100, Philadelphia 86: Los Angeles leads series 3-1
• Game 5 - June 15, Friday , 8:30pm et @Philadelphia, Los Angeles 108, Philadelphia 96: Los Angeles wins series 4-1

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. is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... In team sports, a team representing a city or a region is to be that areas home team. ...

Trivia

• The Lakers became the third team to win the middle three games in a Finals series while the 2-3-2 format has been used (joining the 1990 Detroit Pistons and 1991 Chicago Bulls). All three teams did so by winning games 3 through 5 on the road.
• By winning the Finals MVP award, Shaquille O'Neal joined the list of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Tim Duncan as the only players to win the award at least twice. Jordan, Olajuwon and O'Neal are the only three to win the award in back-to-back years.
• Robert Horry became the second player in NBA history to be a member of back-to-back title-winning teams with two different franchises, joining Dennis Rodman.
• The Lakers were the first team to go 15-1 in the postseason, sweeping the Western Conference and then sweeping the 76ers after their Game 1 loss in the Finals.

The Detroit Pistons are a team in the National Basketball Association based in the Detroit metropolitan area. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For the football player, see Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar. ... Earvin Effay Johnson, Jr. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... For other persons named Michael Jordan, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). ... Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (born Akeem Abdul Olajuwon on January 21, 1963) is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Timothy Tim Theodore Duncan[1] (born April 25, 1976 in Christiansted, St. ... Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961, in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player best known for his fierce defensive and rebounding ability, leading the National Basketball Association in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and earning NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven...

See also

• 2001 NBA Playoffs

The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Associations 2000-01 season. ...

External links

• Official website
• NBA History