18 Years Ago Today, Kobe To Shaq Happened In Game 7

Listen, I’m not a Kobe fan. I’m not a Shaq fan. I’m sure as shit not a Lakers fan. That said, I am a basketball fan and because of that, I remember this play as I’m sure the rest of you do. This was the play that sealed the Lakers win in game 7 at home vs the Blazers in the Western Conference Finals and sent Kobe/Shaq to their first Finals together.

That series was a really good one too. Remember in game 3, Kobe sealed the win by blocking Arvydas Sabonis at the buzzer to seal a 93-91 win. You had the Lakers nearly blowing a 3-1 lead and then you had game 7. The Jail Blazers were one of the more memorable early-2000s teams (along with the Kings, Carter/Kidd/RJ Nets and Reggie’s Pacers) to not win a title. The Blazers had Scottie Pippen, Dentlef Schrempf, Sabonis, Jermaine O’Neal, Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells, Damon Stoudemire, Brian Grant, Steve Smith and Greg Anthony.

In terms of memorable game 7 plays in the 2000s, this one is up there. Remember, the Lakers were down 15 with 10 minutes to go before finishing the game on a 29-9 run. If the Lakers don’t win this, the whole ‘dynasty’ with Shaq and Kobe probably goes just a tad differently. Either way, it’s a memorable play so we have to write about it.