2001 NBA Finals
The 2001 NBA Finals marked the conclusion of the 2000–01 NBA season and its postseason, pitting the reigning champions and Western Conference victors, the Los Angeles Lakers, against the Eastern Conference titleholders, the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers earned home-court advantage by having a superior record in inter-conference play, engaging in a best-of-seven championship series. After losing the opening game on their home floor, Los Angeles rebounded with four consecutive victories to secure their second straight championship and 13th overall franchise title. Their impressive playoff record of 15–1 established a new benchmark for postseason excellence, a mark later eclipsed by the 2016–17 Golden State Warriors following revisions to the playoff structure.
Center Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers was honored with his second consecutive NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, showcasing dominant performances by averaging 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per contest.
Background
Entering the 2000–01 NBA season as defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers faced roster changes due to free agency departures but bolstered their lineup by acquiring seasoned players such as Isaiah Rider and Horace Grant. The team encountered early difficulties, including internal tensions between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, alongside injury setbacks. Nevertheless, after suffering their final defeat on April 1, 2001, against the New York Knicks, the Lakers concluded the regular season with an eight-game winning streak. They finished with a 56-26 record, securing the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference behind the San Antonio Spurs.
During the 2001 NBA playoffs, Los Angeles swept the Portland Trail Blazers in three straight games, each won by double-digit margins. They continued their dominant run by dispatching the Sacramento Kings 4–0 in the conference semifinals. In the Western Conference finals, the Lakers completed another sweep against top-seeded San Antonio Spurs (4–0), becoming just the second team in NBA history to achieve an 11–0 record through conference playoffs, matching their own feat from the 1988–1989 season.
The Lakers’ quest for an unprecedented playoff sweep was met with resistance from Allen Iverson’s Philadelphia 76ers, who entered as Eastern Conference No. 1 seed after enduring two consecutive seven-game series victories. Although Los Angeles held home-court advantage due to tiebreaker rules, they dropped Game 1 in overtime to Philadelphia’s Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, and Eric Snow. The Lakers responded by winning Game 2, fueled by Kobe Bryant’s determination to take control over Philadelphia. Subsequently, the Sixers suffered three straight defeats at home, paving the way for Los Angeles to claim their second consecutive NBA championship.
Road to the Finals
| Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference champion) | Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Template:2000–01 NBA West standingsSecond seed in Western Conference; second-best overall league record |
Regular season |
Template:2000–01 NBA East standingsTop seed in Eastern Conference; third-best league record | ||
| Overcame (7) Portland Trail Blazers, 3–0 | First round | Defeated (8) Indiana Pacers, 3–1 | ||
| Swept (3) Sacramento Kings, 4–0 | Conference semifinals | Triumphed over (5) Toronto Raptors, 4–3 | ||
| Swept (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–0 | Conference finals | Edged past (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–3 | ||
Regular season encounters
The two squads each secured a victory on their home court during their pair of regular season clashes:
Los Angeles Lakers
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Series overview
| Game | Date | Visiting team | Outcome | Host team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 6 | Philadelphia 76ers | 107–101 (OT) (1–0) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 2 | June 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 89–98 (1–1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 3 | June 10 | Los Angeles Lakers | 96–91 (2–1) | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Game 4 | June 13 | Los Angeles Lakers | 100–86 (3–1) | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Game 5 | June 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 108–96 (4–1) | Philadelphia 76ers |
Game 1
The Lakers established an early advantage, jumping out to a 21–9 lead against the Iverson-led Sixers, including a streak of 16 unanswered points. Iverson countered with an impressive 30 points in the first half, enabling Philadelphia to erase the deficit and eventually take a 15-point lead in the third quarter before Los Angeles mounted a comeback. Shaquille O'Neal contributed 18 points during that period to help fuel the rally.
In the final quarter, Tyronn Lue’s defensive efforts restricted Iverson to only three points while Lue added three assists and two steals. The score was tied at 94 when missed free throws by Dikembe Mutombo and a last-second three-point attempt by Eric Snow that rimmed out sent the game into overtime.
During overtime, the Lakers started strong with five points, but Iverson responded with seven consecutive points, including a memorable step-back jumper over Lue—followed by his iconic step over Lue—to clinch a six-point win for Philadelphia.
Game 2
Kobe Bryant scored twelve points in the opening quarter, followed by Shaquille O'Neal’s twelve points in the second quarter, while the Sixers kept the contest tight despite most Lakers struggling with shooting apart from Bryant and O'Neal. Philadelphia rallied from a thirteen-point deficit in the fourth quarter as O'Neal sat out due to five fouls, scoring seven straight points.
Nevertheless, poor free-throw accuracy (6 of 16 in the fourth quarter) hampered their comeback efforts. O'Neal nearly achieved a quadruple-double with totals of 28 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, and eight blocks. Prior to the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson encouraged O'Neal to increase his defensive intensity following Game 1.
Game 3
The Lakers maintained the lead for more than thirty minutes (37:54 compared to Philadelphia’s 3:40) but held only a slim one-possession advantage late in the game. The Sixers trimmed a nine-point deficit down to one point three times within the final two minutes despite losing LA starters Shaquille O'Neal (30 points, 12 rebounds) and Derek Fisher to fouls. Allen Iverson led with a game-high of 35 points and hit crucial free throws to bring Philadelphia within one at 86–85 with less than two minutes remaining. After Rick Fox split his free throws for Los Angeles, Iverson committed a turnover, allowing Kobe Bryant to extend the lead to four with a running floater.
Kevin Ollie’s three-point play reduced the margin again, but Brian Shaw assisted Robert Horry on an important corner three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 92–88 lead with forty-seven seconds left. Iverson responded by sinking three free throws after being fouled on his third three-point try, narrowing it to one point with twenty-seven seconds remaining. However, Horry’s timely free throws and defensive contributions secured Los Angeles’ win and a commanding 2–1 series advantage. Bryant finished with thirty-two points playing all minutes, while Philadelphia struggled from long range, converting just two of twelve three-point attempts.
Game 5
This game stands as the latest NBA Finals contest hosted in Philadelphia.
Player statistics
- Los Angeles Lakers
|- | align="left" | || 5 || 5 || 46.8 || .415 || .333 || .842 || 7.8 || 5.8 || 1.4 || 1.4 || 24.6 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 5 || 31.6 || .436 || .526 || .833 || 1.2 || 2.0 || 1.6 || 0.2 || 9.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 5 || 32.8 || .441 || .467 || .923 || 4.6 || 3.8 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 9.8 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 5 || 24.6 || .294 || .000 || .750 || 5.6 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 1.4 || 5.2 |- | align="left" | || 3 || 0 || 8.3 || .625 || .333 || .667 || 1.7 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 4.3 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 25.4 || .560 || .615 || 1.000 || 5.0 || 1.2 || 0.8 || 1.4||8.4 |- | align="left" | ||5||0||14.6|| .583|| .667|| .000||0.8||1.4||1.4||0.2||3.6 |- | align="left" | ||2||0||1.5|| .000|| .000|| .000||0.5||0.0||0.0||0.5||0.0 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | ||5||5||45.0|| .573|| .000|| .513|| 15.8||4.8||0.4|| 3.4|| 33.0 |- | align="left" | ||5||0||18.6|| .300|| .300|| .600||3.2||2.8||0.8||0.0||3.6
- Philadelphia 76ers
|- | align="left" | ||5||0||15.8|| .308|| .000|| .500||1.8||0.8||| 2.0|||0.0|||2.6 |- | align="left" | ||3|||0|||4.3||| .167||| .000||| .000|||2.0|||0.0|||0.0|||0.7 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
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Broadcasting
The U.S.-based broadcast of the NBA Finals in 2001 was carried by NBC, featuring commentary from Marv Albert and Doug Collins. Albert, who returned to NBC in '99 following a prior departure, also contributed to TNT broadcasts up until his exit in 2021, while Collins departed NBC after this series to assume coaching duties with the Washington Wizards, later joining Albert again for TNT's conference finals coverage years later. Hosting duties in the studio were managed by Ahmad Rashad, substituting for Hannah Storm, who was away on maternity leave at the time, with analysis provided by Kevin Johnson and P.J. Carlesimo. On-site reports were delivered by Lewis Johnson and Jim Gray.
Aftermath
The Lakers clinched their third straight NBA title by sweeping the New Jersey Nets in the subsequent year's Finals, finishing with a postseason record of fifteen wins and one loss—a mark that stood as an NBA record until the Golden State Warriors surpassed it with a sixteen-and-one run in the playoffs of 2017–18 season onward, the first round of which was extended to a best-of-seven format starting with the following season (2002–03).
As of the start of the 2024–25 campaign, this series remains the Philadelphia Sixers’ latest appearance in the NBA Finals stage, as they faced challenges in the following season due to injuries, concluding with forty-three wins and an early exit from the playoffs after losing to the Boston Celtics in the opening round; that Celtics team nearly advanced to the Finals themselves but were stopped by the Nets, who reached their first Finals appearance and thereby prevented a potential Celtics-Lakers championship matchup.
During Allen Iverson’s tenure, Philadelphia’s playoff participation was limited to just two appearances over four years, with only one series victory and no advancement beyond the conference semifinals.
Coach Larry Brown later guided the Detroit Pistons to their third championship title in franchise history by defeating the Lakers four games to one in the NBA Finals of 2004.