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Monday, June 15, 2009 | 7:17am
Lakers Win NBA Championship; Kobe’s 4th & Phil’s 10th
The Lakers dispose of the Magic in 5; Kobe gets one without Shaq
The Los Angeles Lakers are the `08-`09 NBA Champions. Kobe Bryant led his Lakers over Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in a title clinching 99 – 86 victory. The `chip is Kobe’s 4th and critics can now back off talks of how Kobe never won one without Shaquille O’Neal .
Bryant, who averaged 32.4 points and was named finals MVP, said the can-he-win-without-Shaq talk annoyed him.
“It was like Chinese water torture,” he said. “I would cringe every time. I was just like, it’s a challenge I’m just going to have to accept because there’s no way I’m going to argue it. You can say it until you’re blue in the face and rationalize it until you’re blue in the face, but it’s not going anywhere until you do something about it. I think we as a team answered the call because they understood the challenge that I had, and we all embraced it.”
Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson also made history with winning the championship last night. Jackson won his 10th NBA title which made him the coach with the most championships in NBA history passing late Celtic coach & Hall of Famer Red Auerbach, who won 9 titles. Jackson has won 4 championships with the Lakers.
This championship is the L.A. Lakers 15th overall and only trail the Boston Celtics’ 17 titles. The Chicago Bulls are a distant 3rd with 6 championships; which all came with Phil Jackson as the coach of the bulls — his first 6 out of 10 championships.
Shaq also offers his congrats to Kobe via twitter:
We did it! 15 championship!!!
-B.
I’m not surprised that the Lakers won the championship but I’m very disappointed in the way the Magic played. They saved their worse for last. Phil Jackson deserves more props and he’s going to get it.
Me too. I thought Van Gundy was a better coach than he showed. He made some bad moves (after drawing up that great inbounds play that could/should have won game two). Congratulations to the Lakers and their “classy” fans, some of whom are still trying to make bail this A.M. for trying to burn L.A. down in celebration. Kinda glad we didn’t get to see what would have happened if they’d lost!
Yeah, well, I ain’t a Laker fan, so what can I say? They played well down the stretch and came away with the prize. I ain’t a Magic fan either, but I always pull for the underdog. As for Phil, I’m sorry, I just can’t buy into the hype. He’s won the 10 true enough, but I don’t know if he’s such a great coach like every body says. Give me MJ,Pippen, Rodman, Shaq, and Kobe and I could probly win a few games as well.
Phil Jackson is the most successful coach ever yes he had jordan pipen shaq and kobe, but 10 titles should speak for itself. Before Phil came to either one of these teams they would always lose in the playoffs. Lakers would get swept by spurs and chicago would lose every year to detroit or boston phil takes over these teams suddenly when championships
Lakers “suddenly” start winning? Excuse me, but have you ever heard of Magic Johnson? Kareem Abdul Jabar? James Worthy? Lakers “suddenly” start winning when Phil arrives? Stop smoking, drinking, sniffing, or whatever the heck you have been doing. As for Chicago, they started winning games after MJ came on board. It took some time, but he was the key. Chicago fired Doug Collins and brought in Phil, that was a business move, but oh well. I’m still standing by what I said before, yes, he has won the ten titles, nobody can change that, but I still say the man inherited good teams. I tell you what, let Phil go to the Bobcats or the Timberwolves or the OKC Thunder and see what he can do.