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)
Hall of Famers	Lakers: Mitch Richmond (2014) Shaquille O'Neal (2016) Kobe Bryant (2020) Nets: Jason Kidd (2018) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern Finals:	Nets defeated Celtics, 4–2
Western Finals:	Lakers defeated Kings, 4–3
NBA Finals
← 2001
2003 →

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, 4–0, to win the franchise's 14th NBA championship and third consecutive NBA championship. The 56th edition of the championship series was played between June 5 to June 12 and was broadcast on NBC — the last NBA games broadcast on the network to date.

Shaquille O'Neal, who averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in the Finals, was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the third and final time. 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.

This series was the first sweep in the NBA Finals since 1995 as well as the last until 2007.

2002 NBA Playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference Champion)			New Jersey Nets (Eastern Conference Champion)
58–24 (.707) 2nd Pacific, 3rd West, 2nd (tied) Overall	Regular season		52–30 (.634) 1st Atlantic, 1st East, 5th Overall
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.

March 5

Recap

New Jersey Nets 92, Los Angeles Lakers 101

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

FSN West, FSN New York

April 2

Recap

Los Angeles Lakers 92, New Jersey Nets 94

Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey

KCAL, FSN New York

Background

Los Angeles Lakers

All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds in the regular season.

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. 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 such that politician Ralph Nader demanded an investigation. In Game 7, the Lakers prevailed in overtime 112–106 to earn their third straight NBA Finals berth.

New Jersey Nets

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 1999–2000 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 owned 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 San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana 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.

Series summary

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Away
Game 1	June 5	Los Angeles	99–94	New Jersey
Game 2	June 7	Los Angeles	106–83	New Jersey
Game 3	June 9	New Jersey	103–106	Los Angeles
Game 4	June 12	New Jersey	107–113	Los Angeles

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

Game 1

June 5 9:30 pm (6:30 pm PDT)	Recap	New Jersey Nets 94, Los Angeles Lakers 99				Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 18,997 Referees: #17 Joe Crawford #10 Ron Garretson #35 Jack Nies	NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7
		Scoring by quarter: 14–29, 22–19, 27–24, 31–27
		Pts: Jason Kidd 23 Rebs: Jason Kidd 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 10		Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 36 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 16 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6
		Los Angeles leads series, 1–0

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 Jason Kidd, Kerry Kittles, Kenyon Martin, Keith Van Horn, and Todd MacCulloch to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored two-time defending 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 run to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloch 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

June 7 9:30 pm (6:30 pm PDT)	Recap	New Jersey Nets 83, Los Angeles Lakers 106				Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 18,997 Referees: #12 Don Vaden #15 Bennett Salvatore #29 Steve Javie	NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7
		Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 22–22, 18–28, 22–29
		Pts: Kerry Kittles 23 Rebs: Jason Kidd 9 Asts: Jason Kidd 7		Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 40 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 12 Asts: Shaquille O'Neal 8
		Los Angeles leads series, 2–0

Game 3

June 9 8:30 pm	Recap	Los Angeles Lakers 106, New Jersey Nets 103				Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 19,215 Referees: #26 Bob Delaney #43 Dan Crawford #27 Dick Bavetta	NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7
		Scoring by quarter: 31–23, 21–23, 26–32, 28–25
		Pts: Kobe Bryant 36 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 11 Asts: Derek Fisher 6		Pts: Jason Kidd 30 Rebs: Kidd, Van Horn 5 each Asts: Jason Kidd 10
		Los Angeles leads series, 3–0

Game 4

June 12 9:30 pm	Recap	Los Angeles Lakers 113, New Jersey Nets 107				Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 19,296 Referees: Ted Bernhardt Eddie Rush Bernie Fryer	NBC, TSN, Canal+, Canal 7
		Scoring by quarter: 27–34, 31–23, 26–23, 29–27
		Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 34 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 10 Asts: Kobe Bryant 8		Pts: Kenyon Martin 35 Rebs: Kenyon Martin 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 12
		Los Angeles wins series, 4–0

Rosters

Los Angeles Lakers

2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From G/F 8 Bryant, Kobe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–08-23 Lower Merion High School G 2 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1974–08-09 Arkansas-Little Rock F 17 Fox, Rick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1969–07–24 North Carolina F 3 George, Devean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1977–08–29 Augsburg F 5 Horry, Robert 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–08–25 Alabama G 10 Hunter, Lindsey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1970–12–03 Jackson State F 35 Madsen, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1976–01–28 Stanford F/C 6 McCoy, Jelani  (IN) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1977–12–06 UCLA F 14 Medvedenko, Stanislav 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1979–04–04 Ukraine C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 338 lb (153 kg) 1972–03–06 LSU G 23 Richmond, Mitch 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1965–06–30 Kansas State G 20 Shaw, Brian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1966–03–22 UCSB F/C 52 Walker, Samaki 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1976–02–25 Louisville

Head coach Phil Jackson (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) Jim Cleamons (Ohio State) Frank Hamblen (Syracuse) Kurt Rambis (Santa Clara) Tex Winter (USC) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: June 14, 2002

New Jersey Nets

2001–02 New Jersey Nets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From G 1 Armstrong, Brandon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1980–06–16 Pepperdine C 35 Collins, Jason 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1978–12–02 Stanford G 12 Harris, Lucious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–12–18 LBSU F 24 Jefferson, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1980–06–21 Arizona G 8 Johnson, Anthony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1974–10–02 Charleston G 5 Kidd, Jason (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1973–03–23 California G 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1974–06–12 Villanova C 11 MacCulloch, Todd 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1976–01–27 Washington F 13 Marshall, Donny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1972–07–17 Connecticut F 6 Martin, Kenyon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1977–12–30 Cincinnati F 21 Scalabrine, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) 1978–03–18 USC F 44 Van Horn, Keith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1975–10–23 Utah F/C 34 Williams, Aaron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1971–10–02 Xavier

Head coach Byron Scott (Arizona State) Assistant coach(es) Lawrence Frank (Indiana) Eddie Jordan (Rutgers) Mike O'Koren (North Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: June 14, 2002

References

Preceded by 2001

NBA Finals 2002

Succeeded by 2003