| ||||||||||
| Dates | June 5–12 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: Kobe Bryant (2020) Shaquille O'Neal (2016) Mitch Richmond (2014) Nets: Jason Kidd (2018) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015) Danny Crawford (2025) Broadcaster: Chick Hearn (2003) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Nets defeatedCeltics, 4–2 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeatedKings, 4–3 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
The2002 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)2001–02 season, and the culmination ofthe season's playoffs. In abest-of-seven series, theWestern Conference championLos Angeles Lakers swept theEastern Conference championNew Jersey Nets to win their third consecutive championship. The Lakers became the first team since theChicago Bulls to achieve athree-peat in NBA history. Lakers coachPhil Jackson won his ninth ring, tying him withRed Auerbach for most all-time. During the series, he surpassedPat Riley for most career playoffs wins with 156.Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers was named theNBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the third consecutive year, after dominant performances averaging 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.[1][2]
TheLos Angeles Lakers andNew Jersey Nets split both games in the regular season, each winning on their home court.
March 5 |
Recap at theWayback Machine (archived February 12, 2005) |
| New Jersey Nets 92,Los Angeles Lakers 101 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |
April 2 |
Recap at theWayback Machine (archived February 12, 2005) |
| Los Angeles Lakers 92,New Jersey Nets94 |

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 hiredRod Thorn as team president and immediately, he hired the recently retiredByron Scott to coach New Jersey. Thorn then dealt forStephon Marbury in a three-team trade with theMilwaukee Bucks andMinnesota Timberwolves, tradingSam Cassell away to the Bucks.[3] Due to the Nets' 31–51 season in1999–2000 season, they had the first overall pick in the2000 NBA draft, which they used to selectpower forwardKenyon Martin out of theUniversity of Cincinnati.[4] Despite the reshuffling of the roster and anNBA All-Rookie Team season for Martin, New Jersey struggled, ending the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and owned the 7th pick in theupcoming draft.
With another lottery pick, Thorn dealt it to theHouston Rockets for drafteesRichard Jefferson,Jason Collins andBrandon Armstrong.[3] The next day,Phoenix Suns ownerJerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guardJason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury.[5]
With thePrinceton offense installed from the coaching staff,[6] 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 theEastern Conference. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both theAll-NBA[7] andAll-Defensive Teams[8] and was selected for his fifthAll-Star game. He also finished runner-up toSan Antonio Spurs power forwardTim Duncan in theMost Valuable Player voting.[9] Richard Jefferson was anAll-Rookie second team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awardedNBA Executive of the Year.[10]
In the first round of the playoffs, New Jersey survived a scare against theIndiana Pacers, escaping game five indouble overtime to advance.[11] It was the Nets' first playoff series win since 1984. They then dismissed theCharlotte Hornets in five games before meeting theirAtlantic Division rivals, theBoston Celtics, in theconference finals.[12] 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 forwardPaul 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.[13][14]
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.[15] 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 firstNBA Finals appearance and becoming the third formerAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) team to make the Finals (theSpurs and thePacers being the first two).[16] 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 atriple-double over a course of a series and the second to have at least three.[17][18]
In stark contrast to New Jersey, 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 the2001 NBA playoffs, the greatest in NBA history, besting the 1983Philadelphia 76ers' 12–1 (.923) run and were the first team to go undefeated on the road in the playoffs.[19] SincePhil 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-captainsShaquille O'Neal andKobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in thePacific Division and earning the third seed in theWestern Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won thegame MVP trophy in his hometownPhiladelphia.[20] The duo appeared on theAll-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with aSecond-Team All-Defensive Team selection.[7][8]

The Lakers shot out to another quick start in the playoffs, finishing thePortland Trail Blazers in three games with aRobert Horry game-winner.[21] TheSan Antonio Spurs were dispatched in five games before Los Angeles met their biggest challenge in the duration of their championship reign in theWestern Conference finals: theSacramento Kings. With the best record in the West, the Kings heldhome court advantage against the Lakers and split the first two games inARCO Arena before the series shifted toStaples Center, where Sacramento blew out Los Angeles in Game 3 and led as much as 27 before settling with a 103–90 decision.[22]
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.[23] Back in Sacramento for Game 5, the Kings staged some late-game heroics of their own asMike Bibby nailed a jumper with 8.2 seconds remaining, giving his team not only a 92–91 win, but a 3–2 series advantage.[24]
With their season on the line, the Lakers returned home for Game 6. In a controversial contest, one in which the Lakers attempted 27free throws in the fourth quarter to Sacramento's 9, O'Neal and Bryant had one of their most dominant performances as a duo. O'Neal recorded 41 points and 17 rebounds while Bryant contributed 31 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists to force a Game 7 in ARCO Arena.[25] The outrage was such that politicianRalph Nader demanded an investigation.[26] In Game 7, the Lakers prevailed in overtime 112–106 to earn their third straightNBA Finals berth.[27]
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coach Assistant(s) Legend
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| Head coach Assistant(s) Legend
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| Game | Date | Road team | Result | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 5 | New Jersey Nets | 94–99 (0–1) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 2 | June 7 | New Jersey Nets | 83–106 (0–2) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 3 | June 9 | Los Angeles Lakers | 106–103 (3–0) | New Jersey Nets |
| Game 4 | June 12 | Los Angeles Lakers | 113–107 (4–0) | New Jersey Nets |
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June 5 9:30 pm(6:30 pmPDT) |
Recap at theWayback Machine (archived December 4, 2004) |
| New Jersey Nets 94,Los Angeles Lakers99 | ||
| 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 the series, 1–0 | ||
Staples Center,Los Angeles,California Attendance: 18,997 Referees:
|
Los Angeles'sStaples 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 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 coachByron Scott, a member of theShowtime Lakers,[28][29] 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. "
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.[31] Kidd finished with a triple-double, the 26th in Finals history and the first sinceCharles Barkley's in Game 4 of the1993 Finals.
June 7 9:30 pm(6:30 pmPDT) |
Recap at theWayback Machine (archived December 9, 2004) |
| New Jersey Nets 83,Los Angeles Lakers106 | ||
| 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 the series, 2–0 | ||
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 18,997 Referees: |
June 9 8:30 pm |
Recap at theWayback Machine (archived July 25, 2008) |
| Los Angeles Lakers106, New Jersey Nets 103 | ||
| 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 the series, 3–0 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena,East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 19,215 Referees:
|
Beginning halfway through the first quarter, the Lakers built up a sizable lead for most of the game. However, the Nets would quickly tie and take the lead at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter with aKenyon Martin and Jason Kidd two point shot, respectively.[32] With three minutes to go in the fourth, Robert Horry hit a three pointer to give the Lakers a 98–96 lead, which would end up never going away and gave them the edge over the Nets, as they would go on to win 106–103.[33]
June 12 9:30 pm |
Recap at theWayback Machine (archived July 25, 2008) |
| Los Angeles Lakers113, New Jersey Nets 107 | ||
| 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 the NBA Finals, 4–0 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey Attendance: 19,296 Referees: |
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | 4 | 4 | 43.8 | .514 | .545 | .806 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 26.8 |
| Derek Fisher | 4 | 4 | 33.0 | .515 | .667 | .643 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 12.8 |
| Rick Fox | 4 | 4 | 36.0 | .522 | .455 | .833 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 9.8 |
| Devean George | 4 | 0 | 18.0 | .435 | .600 | 1.000 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 6.5 |
| Robert Horry | 4 | 4 | 39.8 | .458 | .455 | .833 | 7.3 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 8.0 |
| Lindsey Hunter | 3 | 0 | 3.7 | .200 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Mark Madsen | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Slava Medvedenko | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 4 | 4 | 41.5 | .595 | .000 | .662 | 12.3 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 36.3 |
| Mitch Richmond | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Brian Shaw | 4 | 0 | 16.3 | .286 | .222 | .000 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
| Samaki Walker | 4 | 0 | 6.0 | .250 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Collins | 4 | 0 | 18.8 | .500 | .000 | .875 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.3 |
| Lucious Harris | 4 | 0 | 22.8 | .344 | .200 | .800 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| Richard Jefferson | 4 | 0 | 24.3 | .524 | .000 | .455 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6.8 |
| Anthony Johnson | 4 | 0 | 5.3 | .333 | .000 | .500 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Jason Kidd | 4 | 4 | 42.0 | .438 | .300 | .636 | 7.3 | 9.8 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 20.8 |
| Kerry Kittles | 4 | 4 | 26.5 | .452 | .313 | .700 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 12.5 |
| Todd MacCulloch | 4 | 4 | 18.5 | .500 | .000 | 0.5 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| Donny Marshall | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Kenyon Martin | 4 | 4 | 39.5 | .467 | .200 | .654 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 22.0 |
| Brian Scalabrine | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Keith Van Horn | 4 | 4 | 30.3 | .386 | .417 | .750 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 10.5 |
| Aaron Williams | 4 | 0 | 11.5 | .375 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
The Finals were produced and televised in the United States byNBC. The local NBC stations for the competing teams were East Coast flagshipWNBC in the New York metropolitan area and West Coast flagshipKNBC in Los Angeles.Marv Albert provided play-by-play calling.Basketball Hall of FamerBill Walton andSteve "Snapper" Jones handled color duties.Jim Gray andLewis Johnson roamed the sidelines for the Lakers and Nets respectively.Bob Costas hosted pregame and half-time shows with analystTom Tolbert.[34]Ernie Johnson,Kenny Smith, andCharles Barkley fromTNT'sInside the NBA made special guest appearances during halftime of Game 1.Brent Musburger andJack Ramsay called the four games onESPN Radio.Hannah Storm hosted the post-game show.
The finals also had Spanish-language television and radio broadcasts in the United States.[35][36]
Until 2025, the series was also NBC's final broadcast of the NBA. In January 2002, the league's broadcast rights were awarded toABC andESPN in a six-year deal,[37] which was renewed for an additional eight years in 2007.[38] For the2025–26 season, NBC signed an 11-year deal marking a return to the NBA, but ABC will continue to exclusively broadcast the NBA Finals.[39]
At the conclusion of Game 4, NBC presented highlights of the twelve years of their NBA broadcasts; among them theChicago Bulls' dynasty led byMichael Jordan andScottie Pippen, the retirements ofLarry Bird andMagic Johnson and theLos Angeles Lakers' current Shaq/Kobe reign, as the credits rolled. NBC also played "Winning It All" byThe Outfield, which they had used for the close of their NBA Finals broadcasts from1992 to1996. The last image displayed was of an empty gym, showing a basketball bouncing into the background, as "To The Flemish Cap" from the soundtrack to the filmThe Perfect Storm played. NBC ended the broadcast (and their 12-year run broadcasting NBA basketball) by displaying over the shot the message "Thanks for the memories".
The 2002 Finals was also Marv Albert's last NBA Finals assignment. After the series, Albert's national television duties continued withTNT and Albert remained with TNT until his retirement in2021, but only called games until theconference finals each season.
Will Lyman narrated the season-ending documentary forNBA Entertainment.
2002 NBA Finals Ratings
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.6/20 | 9.1/18 | 10.2/18 | 10.8/19 |

The Lakers victory in this year's Finals would also mark the beginning of what would become a successful year for professionalsports teams in theLos Angeles metropolitan area. The nearbyAnaheim Angels would later claim their firstWorld Series championshipfour months later.[40] It marked the second occurrence that a city/metropolitan area won bothNBA andMajor League Baseball championships in the same calendar year. The last time this occurred was in 1988, when the Lakers wonthat year's NBA Finals in June; theDodgers followed suit with aWorld Series victoryfour months later.[40][41] In relation to sports of smaller leagues, theLos Angeles Sparks won theWNBA Finals two months after the Lakers' 2002 Finals victory; theLos Angeles Galaxy won theMLS Cup exactly one week prior to the Angels' World Series victory in October.[40] The successes of Los Angeles area teams ledSporting News magazine to declare Anaheim/Los Angeles as "Best Sports City" in 2003.[42] As of 2025[update], the Lakers are the last team to pull off a 'three-peat' in North American professional sports. No other team has "three-peated" since this year's Finals. Since then, only four North American professional sports teams have come close to doing so, the NBA'sMiami Heat and theGolden State Warriors, the NHL'sTampa Bay Lightning, and the NFL'sKansas City Chiefs, however all 4 lost their 3rd consecutive championship appearance after winning the last 2.[43] Whereas the Heat, led by theBig Three ofLeBron James,Dwyane Wade, andChris Bosh, made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances since2011, won back-to-back titles in2012 and2013 against different teams (Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012 andSan Antonio Spurs in 2013), but lost in2014 to the Spurs. The Warriors, led by theSplash Brothers (Stephen Curry andKlay Thompson),Draymond Green,Andre Iguodala, andKevin Durant, won back-to-back titles in2017 and2018 against theCleveland Cavaliers, but ended their 3-peat journey in2019 as they fell to theToronto Raptors in six games.[44]
The Lakers were off to a slow start in the2002–03 NBA season. By this time, therelationship between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal began to show cracks. Injuries were also starting to slow the Lakers down. Nevertheless, the Lakers won 50 games, but would only earn the fifth seed, thereby not earning the home-court advantage. Still, the Lakers took down the fourth-seededMinnesota Timberwolves in six games. However, they were eliminated by theSan Antonio Spurs, who finally earned revenge after their previous two defeats to the Lakers in the2001 and2002 NBA playoffs. In Game 5,Robert Horry, a perennial clutch threat in the playoffs, missed a game-winning three that would've given the Lakers a 3–2 lead. The miss eventually led to Horry's free-agent defection to the Spursthe following season.
The Nets made it back to the Finals in2003. They won 49 games and the Atlantic Division title, and heading into the Finals they won ten straight games, two in the six-game first round win over theMilwaukee Bucks, and two four-game sweeps of theBoston Celtics andDetroit Pistons. However, they still came up short, losing in six games to the Spurs, in the first NBA finals series featuring formerABA teams. RookiesRichard Jefferson andBrian Scalabrine would later win NBA championships in their career (Scalabrine with the2007–08 Boston Celtics and Jefferson with the2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers). Star point guardJason Kidd also won a championship with the2010–11 Dallas Mavericks in2011.
Byron Scott later coached the Lakers from 2014 to 2016, the last few years of Kobe Bryant's career.
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