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2009 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson 4 Orlando Magic Stan Van Gundy 1
Dates	June 4–14
MVP	Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
Hall of Famers	Lakers: Kobe Bryant (2020) Pau Gasol (2023) Magic: Dwight Howard (2025) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Officials: Danny Crawford (2025)
Eastern finals	Magic defeatedCavaliers, 4–2
Western finals	Lakers defeatedNuggets, 4–2
← 2008 NBA Finals 2010 →

The2009 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)2008–09 season and the conclusion of theseason's playoffs. Abest-of-seven playoff series starting on June 4 and concluding on June 14, 2009, it was contested between theWestern Conference championLos Angeles Lakers, and theEastern Conference championOrlando Magic.^[1] The Lakers were heavily favored to win the championship over the Magic.^[2]

The Lakers defeated the Magic, four games to one, to win the franchise's 15th NBA championship.Kobe Bryant was named theFinals MVP. The Orlando Magic's Game 3 victory was the first win in an NBA Finals game in franchise history; they were previously swept in1995 by theHouston Rockets.

The two team captains (the Lakers'Kobe Bryant and the Magic'sDwight Howard) were teammates and starters on theUnited States men's national team the previous summer, winning agold medal at the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Each player defeated another fellow Olympic starter in his respective conference final series: Bryant defeatedCarmelo Anthony'sDenver Nuggets and Howard advanced pastLeBron James'Cleveland Cavaliers.

This series was nicknamed the "Disney Series" for its connections toThe Walt Disney Company. Disney owns bothESPN, and Finals broadcasterABC;Walt Disney World is located 20 miles (32 km) from Orlando in nearbyLake Buena Vista, andDisneyland is located 30 miles (48 km) from Los Angeles in nearbyAnaheim.

TheLakers were the favorite to emerge from the Western Conference, but their road to the Finals was a tough one. They played three physical series against theUtah Jazz,Houston Rockets, andDenver Nuggets, winning in 5, 7, and 6 games, respectively. Going into the Finals, the Lakers finished off the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals with two good performances in Games 5 and 6, making analysts pick them as the favorites in the Finals. It was their sixth Finals appearance of the decade and a record-extending 30th Finals appearance overall, the most for any NBA team.

TheMagic were overlooked by many to even reach the Eastern Conference finals, as they played in the shadows of the #1-seededCleveland Cavaliers, led by regular-seasonMVPLeBron James, and defending champion #2-seedBoston Celtics. However, after dispatching thePhiladelphia 76ers in six games, the Magic stunned the Celtics by winningGame 7 inBoston. The Celtics were previously 32–0 when leading a series 3–2, and 17–3 previously in Game 7s at home. Orlando assistant coachPatrick Ewing had publicly "guaranteed" that Orlando would win Game 7.^[3]

In the next round, Orlando was given little chance by many to defeat the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, but a combination of three-point shooting and the inside presence ofDwight Howard created a matchup nightmare for Cleveland on defense, and Orlando ultimately won in six games. In Game 6, Howard's stellar performance with 40 points and 14 rebounds helped the franchise earn its second all-time Finals appearance and its first Finals appearance since1995, where aShaquille O'Neal andPenny Hardaway-ledMagic were swept by theHakeem Olajuwon andClyde Drexler-ledHouston Rockets.

Although the Magic won both regular-season matchups with the Lakers, Los Angeles was able to take four out of five games in this series. Both regular-season games and three of the NBA Finals games were close contests, decided by six points or fewer or in overtime. The Lakers won Game 2 on June 7, 101–96 in overtime. Then they won Game 4 on June 11 in overtime as well.

Tyronn Lue, a backup point guard with Orlando, appeared with the Lakers during their initial championship run in the early 2000s and faced his former team in the finals. Lue and another backup point guard,Anthony Johnson were the only players on Orlando's roster with NBA Finals experience. However, neither saw playing time during the series, as Lue was inactive with an injury and Johnson lost his minutes to teammateJameer Nelson, who returned from a shoulder injury in time for the Finals, where he led the Magic to sweep the Lakers in regular season.Trevor Ariza, the Lakers starting small forward, faced the team that traded him to the Lakers in 2007.

TheOrlando Magic won both games in the regular-season series:

Starting this Finals, Sunday games are now moved up to 8:00 PM (ET) from the previous 9:00 PM (ET) timeslot.^[4]

All times are inEastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

After an evenly battled first quarter, the Magic took the lead thanks to field goals and assists from point guardJameer Nelson, who was playing his first game since injuring his shoulder during the regular season in February. Down 33–28 with 8:38 left in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers went on a 10–0 run and never looked back. The Lakers ended the 3rd quarter on a 25–10 run, led by the fierce play fromKobe Bryant, who finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, joining the likes ofShaquille O'Neal,Michael Jordan, andJerry West to put up those numbers in a single NBA Finals game. The 25-point margin of victory was the 6th-largest in NBA Finals Game 1 history.

Due to stellar defense by the Lakers, Dwight Howard was a dismal 1–6 from the field, his fewest made field goals in his playoff career, and finished with 12 points, 10 of which came from free throws. The Magic shot only 29.9% (23–77) from the field, the second lowest percentage in the NBA Finals.

Both teams got off to a slow start and were tied at 15 after the first quarter, setting a record-low for combined score (30) in the first quarter of an NBA Finals game. The Lakers picked up the pace in the 2nd quarter, butRashard Lewis kept the Magic in the game, scoring 18 of the team's 20 points in the quarter, including the final 16, on his way to a playoff career-high and Finals franchise-high 34 points for the game. The Magic outscored the Lakers in the 3rd quarter to take a 2-point lead in the 4th.

With the game tied at 84, Rashard Lewis hit a jumper with 1:32 remaining to give the Magic a 2-point lead. Kobe Bryant responded with a jumper of his own to tie the game. With 47 seconds left,Hedo Türkoğlu hit a jumper that was originally called a three-pointer. However, replay showed that his foot was on the line, giving the Magic a two-point lead. With 33 seconds remaining,Dwight Howard was able to deflect, but not steal, aDerek Fisher pass, andPau Gasol was able to again tie the game at 88 with a layup.

On the ensuing Magic possession, the Lakers played great defense and forcedCourtney Lee to miss an awkward layup shot with 10.5 seconds left. With a chance to take a 2–0 series lead, Kobe Bryant was blocked on a jumper by Türkoğlu, who gained control of the ball and called time-out with 0.6 seconds left. After another timeout, Türkoğlu threw a half-court lob to Courtney Lee, who had come free after a screen on his defender. However, Lee was traveling too fast and launched his layup from almost behind the backboard, causing it to miss.

With the Lakers up 1 in overtime with 1:55 left, Derek Fisher stole aJJ Redick pass and was fouled on the ensuing fast break, making both free throws. After the Magic were unable to convert, Kobe Bryant made a pivotal assist to Pau Gasol for a layup-and-one, giving the Lakers a 6-point lead and the eventual victory.

The Magic came out in Game 3 with fire. The Magic shot a field goal percentage of 63% for the game, a Finals record. This also included a 75% first quarter, also a Finals record. However, despite the incredible shooting percentage, the Lakers managed to stay close for much of the game. The game was only sealed for the Magic on a Mickaël Piétrus steal from Kobe Bryant in the waning minute of the 4th quarter.

This win marked the first Finals win in Magic franchise history, losing their first 6 Finals games (being swept in theirfirst appearance and losing Games 1 and 2)

Coming off their franchise's first NBA Finals game victory, the Magic quickly took the lead in the first quarter. However,Kobe Bryant kept the Lakers in the game, scoring 13 of the team's 20 first-quarter points.Dwight Howard played a great first quarter, with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the opening frame. In addition, he drew many fouls, puttingAndrew Bynum,Pau Gasol, andLamar Odom in foul trouble and forcing Lakers coachPhil Jackson to useJosh Powell andD. J. Mbenga early in the game. The Magic were able to increase the lead to 12 at halftime.

The Lakers came out of the locker room aggressive and outscored the Magic 30–14 in the 3rd quarter, led byTrevor Ariza, who scored 13 points in the quarter, including two three-pointers. Down by six in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, the Magic took a 76–75 lead halfway through the quarter, but were unable to increase the lead due to poor free-throw shooting, specifically fromHedo Türkoğlu andDwight Howard.

With 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter and the game tied at 79, Howard converted a three-point play to give the Magic an 82–79 lead. On the next Laker possession, the Magic played good defense, but Trevor Ariza was able to hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 82. After Hedo Türkoğlu hit a stepback 3-point shot, Howard blocked Gasol's jumper, giving him a single-game NBA Finals record with 9 blocked shots. On the bench to witness it was a previous record holder, his assistant coachPatrick Ewing, who had 8 in Game 5 of the1994 NBA Finals while with theNew York Knicks. Türkoğlu made another jumper with 1:34 remaining to give the Magic a five-point lead.

Down 87–82 with 31 seconds left,Kobe Bryant spun through the lane and passed to Gasol for a dunk to cut the lead to three. On the next Magic possession, Howard was fouled by Bryant with 11 seconds remaining. Needing just one free-throw to make the game a 2-possession affair, Howard missed both shots.

Out of the timeout, the Lakers elected to take the ball out at three-quarters court instead of half-court in order to space out the floor. The Magic double-teamed Bryant in the backcourt, allowing him to pass the ball up to Ariza, who in turned passed it toDerek Fisher on the right wing. Having missed his first five three-point shots of the game, Fisher spotted up and hit a pivotal three-pointer over Jameer Nelson to tie the game at 87 with 4.6 seconds left. On the final possession of regulation,Mickaël Piétrus missed a 20-footer.

The overtime session began with a three-pointer byRashard Lewis and two contested jumpers byKobe Bryant to give the Lakers a 91–90 lead. With 1:27 left in overtime, Howard split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 91. On the next possession, the Lakers would miss a layup and a jumper, but regained possession on an offensive rebound by Ariza and a loose-ball foul onJameer Nelson. With 31 seconds left, Kobe Bryant passed out of a double-team with the controversy of no called after Jameer Nelson got hit by Kobe Elbow as Fisher hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers a 94–91 lead.

Out of a timeout, Türkoğlu rushed a three-point shot and missed. Rashard Lewis backtapped the rebound to center court, but the ball went to Pau Gasol, who ran in unimpeded for a dunk, giving the Lakers the lead for good. In the next possession, the Magic missed another shot, bouncing the ball to Fisher, who passed it to Ariza, then to Gasol for a dunk, but Pietrus slammed both arms on his back, resulting in Gasol getting a technical foul and Pietrus a flagrant-1 foul.

Upon the finish of the game,Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger" was played over the P.A. system at Amway Arena.

The Magic, facing the prospect of the Lakers winning a championship on their home floor, came out with a good start, leading by as much as 9 in the first quarter. In the opening frame, all 5 starters scored and assisted on at least one field goal, but the Lakers pulled within two at the quarter break. Down 40–36 with 7:11 in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers went on a 16–0 run, fueled by two 3-pointers and solid defensive play fromTrevor Ariza. The Lakers led by as much as 12 in the 2nd quarter and the score was 56–46 at halftime.

Coming out of the half, Orlando cut the lead to 5 with 7:45 remaining in the 3rd on a three-pointer byRafer Alston.Lamar Odom answered with back-to-back three-pointers to restore the Laker lead to double digits. Leading by as much as 18 in the half, Los Angeles led by 15 going into the 4th quarter. In the final quarter, Orlando attempted a run but managed to cut the lead down to only 12; at the buzzer, the Lakers celebrated their 15th title.^[5]

Following the game, NBA commissionerDavid Stern presented the Lakers with theLarry O'Brien Championship Trophy and presentedKobe Bryant with theBill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy during a presentation on center court atAmway Arena. Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game during the series.

January 25, 2010 White House Visit (8:49)

On January 25, 2010,Barack Obama hosted the2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers at theWhite House following their victory in the 2009 NBA Finals to end the2008–09 NBA season.

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The series was the third straight championship the Lakers clinched on the road (after2001 and2002); the last time the Lakers clinched the championship at home was in2000. With their team's win,Pau Gasol became the firstSpaniard andD. J. Mbenga the firstBelgianCongolese player to win an NBA championship.Bill andLuke Walton became the third father-son pair to each win a championship as a player; the other father-son combinations areMatt Guokas, Sr. (1947) withMatt Jr. (1967) andRick Barry (1975) with sonBrent (2005 and2007).Kobe Bryant averaged 32.4 points and 7.4 assists in this series, which was the best combination of those categories sinceJerry West averaged 37.9 points and 7.4 assists (1969).

For the Magic, Game 3 marked their first Finals game victory in franchise history after losing their first six Finals games, including being swept in their first Finals appearance in1995. In Game 3, the Magic set the Finals record for the bestfield goal percentage with 63 percent, and the Finals record for best field goal percentage in the first half with 75 percent. As of 2023, this is the most recent Magic finals appearance.

This was the first NBA Finals series since1984 to have two games go into overtime (Games 2 and 4); both were won by the Lakers.Dwight Howard set an NBA Finals single-game record with 9 blocked shots in Game 4. The previous record holders, all of whom had blocked eight shots in a Finals game,^[6] were:Bill Walton of thePortland Trail Blazers in Game 6 of the1977 NBA Finals;Hakeem Olajuwon of theHouston Rockets in Game 5 of the1986 NBA Finals; Howard's assistant coachPatrick Ewing of theNew York Knicks in Game 5 of the1994 NBA Finals;Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the2001 NBA Finals; andTim Duncan of theSan Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the2003 NBA Finals.

This was the seventh time in NBA Finals history that a team that lost the championship the previous season has won the Finals the very next year. It is the second time in Lakers history, after the1984 and1985 teams.

This was also the first odd season since 2001 that theSan Antonio Spurs did not win the NBA Finals; they won in2003,2005, and2007.

This was the last Finals in which a trophy silhouette was painted in mid-court. The tradition began in2005 and ended for the2010 series. This was also the last NBA Finals to be played atAmway Arena; the Magic moved to theAmway Center for the2010–11 season.

Category	High		Average
			Los Angeles Lakers		Orlando Magic
	Player	Total	Player	Avg.	Player	Avg.
Points	Kobe Bryant	40	Kobe Bryant	32.4	Hedo Türkoğlu	18.0
Rebounds	Dwight Howard Dwight Howard	21(OT) 15	Pau Gasol	9.2	Dwight Howard	15.2
Assists	Kobe Bryant	8	Kobe Bryant	7.4	Rashard Lewis	4.0
Steals	Dwight Howard Mickaël Piétrus	4(OT) 3	Trevor Ariza	1.8	Dwight Howard	1.6
Blocks	Dwight Howard Marcin Gortat Kobe Bryant Pau Gasol	9(OT) 4 4 4	Pau Gasol	1.8	Dwight Howard	4.0

Los Angeles Lakers

Orlando Magic

Aside fromABC (U.S.) andTSN (Canada), other broadcasters across the world covered the Finals:^[7]

Locally, the Finals were broadcast on Los Angeles'KABC-TV and Orlando'sWFTV.

The series win brought the Lakers' franchise championship total to 15, trailing only theBoston Celtics. The championship was the fourth title for the Lakers during the 2000s, the most among all teams in the four major professional sports leagues in North America.

By virtue of their win this year and loss in the previous year, this marked the tenth occurrence that the winners of the NBA Finals were losers in the preceding year's Finals, previously theDetroit Pistons had lost and won the Finals in1988 and1989 respectively. The victory was noted by many as a personal success for Finals MVPKobe Bryant, winning his first championship and succeeding in the playoffs without the presence of former Lakers centerShaquille O'Neal where some people had previously speculated that Bryant could not "win one without Shaq". Head coach,Phil Jackson, captured his 10th NBA championship, setting a new record by surpassingRed Auerbach for the highest number of championships ever won by an NBA coach. Jackson also surpassed Auerbach and NHL coachScotty Bowman to become the head coach with the most sporting championships in the history of all four major professional sports leagues in North America. Having achieved three Game 1 victories throughout the postseason (first round vs.Utah, conference finals vs.Denver, and NBA Finals vs. Orlando), Phil Jackson-coached NBA teams were now 44–0 in series where they win the first game, later improved to 48–0 by the time Jackson retired after the2011 NBA playoffs.

The Lakers made their sole offseason roster adjustment by acquiringRon Artest from the Houston Rockets in a significant trade that resulted inTrevor Ariza departing to join the Houston Rockets. During the subsequent season, the Lakers secured the top position in the Western Conference, despite recording eight fewer victories than the previous year. They eliminated theOklahoma City Thunder in six, theUtah Jazz in four, and thePhoenix Suns in six games to return to the2010 NBA Finals and renew theirheated rivalry with the Celtics. In the 2010 NBA Finals, the Lakers won a hard-fought seven-game series against the Celtics to successfully defend and retain their NBA title, becoming the first NBA team to repeat as champions since the2001-02 Lakers.

The Magic again won 59 games and the division title during the2009–10 season, in which they relinquishedHedo Türkoğlu to theToronto Raptors and acquired 8-time All-Star and NBA veteranVince Carter from theNew Jersey Nets. Standout player,Dwight Howard wonDefensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. In theplayoffs the Magic swept theCharlotte Bobcats and theAtlanta Hawks, becoming the first team in NBA history to win their first eight playoff games by 20 or more points. However, the Magic would lose to theBoston Celtics in six games of the Eastern Conference finals, marking the final games that were held atAmway Arena. The Magic moved to theAmway Center during the 2010–11 season, and then proceeded to lose in the first round for two straight years to the Hawks and theIndiana Pacers, respectively. After the2011–12 season, Stan Van Gundy was fired, and in a blockbuster offseason trade, Howard was traded to the Lakers, which he spent one season with them and later moved onto theHouston Rockets in 2013. However, the team failed to reachNBA Finals due to the rise of the upstartGolden State Warriors. Thus, Howard returned to theEastern Conference teams after signing withAtlanta Hawks in 2016. Howard returned to the Lakers in2019 where he had his moment of glory, winning a championship in2020.

To date, this is the most recent NBA Finals appearance for the Magic.

• "NBA.com: Finals 2009".NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. RetrievedMay 17, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• 2009 NBA Finals at ESPN
• 2009 NBA Finals at Basketball Reference

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