NBA Finals history · Competing dynasties
The 2000s: Shaq, Kobe, Duncan and the fight to inherit the league
Los Angeles supplied the spectacle, San Antonio supplied the system and Detroit briefly broke through by proving a champion could still be more than its biggest star.
What defined this era
Los Angeles supplied the spectacle, San Antonio supplied the system and Detroit briefly broke through by proving a champion could still be more than its biggest star.
The decade was governed by dominant interior play.
The Lakers and Spurs built dynasties with opposite public personalities.
Detroit demonstrated the championship value of five-man cohesion.
Championship timeline
How the Finals changed
2000–02
The Lakers three-peat
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal escaped Portland, rolled through a 15–1 postseason and survived Sacramento. Shaq won three consecutive Finals MVPs as the league searched for any viable matchup.
NBA Finals2000LOS ANGELESLAKERSINDIANAPACERSCOMPLETE SERIESNBA Finals · the three-peat begins
Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers
NBA Finals2001LOS ANGELESLAKERSPHILADELPHIA76ERSCOMPLETE SERIESNBA Finals · 15–1
Los Angeles Lakers vs Philadelphia 76ers
NBA Finals2002LOS ANGELESLAKERSBROOKLYNNETSCOMPLETE SERIESNBA Finals · the three-peat
Los Angeles Lakers vs Brooklyn Nets
2003–05
San Antonio and Detroit change the tone
Tim Duncan’s Spurs reclaimed the title in 2003. Detroit’s connected defense dismantled the star-heavy Lakers in 2004 before San Antonio outlasted the Pistons in a seven-game 2005 Finals.
NBA Finals2003SAN ANTONIOSPURSBROOKLYNNETSCOMPLETE SERIESNBA Finals · Duncan’s second
San Antonio Spurs vs Brooklyn Nets
NBA Finals2004LOS ANGELESLAKERSDETROITPISTONSCOMPLETE SERIESNBA Finals · five defeat four
Los Angeles Lakers vs Detroit Pistons
NBA Finals2005SAN ANTONIOSPURSDETROITPISTONSCOMPLETE SERIESNBA Finals · defense goes seven
San Antonio Spurs vs Detroit Pistons
2006–07
Wade rises; the Spurs endure
Dwyane Wade took over four straight games to win Miami’s first championship. The next year, San Antonio swept a young LeBron James and secured its fourth title in nine seasons.
2008–09
Boston returns and Kobe answers
The Garnett–Pierce–Allen Celtics restored the Lakers rivalry with a dominant 2008 closeout. Kobe returned the following year and won his first championship without Shaq.
Watch the era
Games that explain the decade
Lakers vs Trail Blazers
2000 Western Conference Finals Game 7
76ers vs Lakers
2001 NBA Finals Game 1
Lakers vs Kings
2002 Western Conference Finals Game 4
Lakers vs Spurs
2004 Western Conference Semifinals Game 5
Heat vs Mavericks
2006 NBA Finals Game 3
Cavaliers vs Pistons
2007 Eastern Conference Finals Game 5
Celtics vs Lakers
2008 NBA Finals Game 4