basketball kingdom

Chapter 579
In the 1989-90 season, Magic Johnson led the team to a record of 63 wins and 19 losses and won the regular season MVP.In the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers lost to the Suns with a big score of 1-4 and were unfortunately out.

In 1990, Pat Riley stepped down as head coach of the Lakers and was replaced by Mike Dunleavy.That season, the Lakers returned to the finals again, but in the face of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's wheel battle, Magic Johnson seemed a little powerless. In the end, he lost 1-4 to the Bulls and lost the series.

This finals can be regarded as the handover of divine power.

In 12 full seasons, Magic Johnson reached the finals 9 times, won 5 championships, 3 regular season MVPs, and 3 finals MVPs, becoming the well-deserved number one point guard in history.

Before the start of the 1991-92 season, Magic Johnson was found to be carrying the HIV virus and basically faded out of the league.He was selected as an All-Star that season, led the team to defeat the Eastern Conference and was elected AMVP, but this did not affect the overall situation. In the end, he gradually left basketball.

In the four seasons since Magic Johnson retired, the Lakers' strength has been greatly reduced.

In the 1995-96 season, Magic Johnson made a brief comeback. At that time, he played more as a power forward. After the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, he officially retired.

For the Lakers, the summer of 1996 can be said to be the time to start a new era.

Jerry West successfully brought free agent Shaquille O'Neal to the Lakers with a big contract, and sent the starting center Vlade Divac and cash, allowing the Hornets to help select Lower Merion High School in the draft Guard Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O'Neal can be said to be one of the most dominant centers. He participated in the draft in the summer of 1992 and was selected by the Magic holding the No. 1984 pick, officially entering the league.In his rookie season, he displayed his violent play in front of the world. After Michael Jordan in the 85-[-] season, he became the first player to start an All-Star game as a rookie and was elected as the best rookie.

In the 1993-94 season, O'Neal led the Magic to the playoffs for the first time.

In the 1994-95 season, O'Neal and Hardaway led the team to eliminate the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the finals, O'Neal fully suppressed the big dream Olajuwon, but the team's strength gap was too large and they were swept out.

In the 1995-96 season, O'Neal was injured and missed 28 games, but the team still won 60 games.In the playoffs, the Magic lost to the Bulls led by Michael Jordan and were unfortunately out.

In the summer of 1996, O'Neal became a free agent.

In the 1995-96 season, Hardaway's popularity was almost comparable to that of Jordan and Hill, and the Magic No. 1 jersey became the best-selling product in Orlando.For the Magic, O'Neal is a treasure, but in contrast, they hope to make Penny Hardaway happy.

Jerry West learned that the negotiations between O'Neal and the Magic had stalled, and offered him a seven-year contract worth $7 million, and promised to provide him with 1.22 tickets per game.

Magic Johnson is even more willing to give up his private garage in the arena to O'Neal, and use full respect to fight for this unborn genius.

O'Neal felt the sincerity of the Lakers, and finally signed the contract and came to Los Angeles, Angel City.

In the summer of 1996, Kobe was selected by the Hornets as a high school player and was immediately traded to the Lakers.At that time, he was too young, and he appeared more as a substitute for Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. He didn't have too dazzling statistics, and he was only selected to the second team of the All-Rookie Team.

In the 1997 All-Star Game, Kobe participated in the slam dunk contest and became the youngest champion in the history of the slam dunk contest.

In the 1997-98 season, Kobe played a small forward for a period of time, and his playing time was significantly improved compared with his rookie season. His scoring average increased from 7.6 points to 15.4 points, and he finally ranked second in the competition for the best sixth man award. Did not get this honor.

In the 1998 All-Star Game, fans voted to make Kobe the youngest player to start an All-Star Game.

In the 1998-99 season, both of the Lakers' starting guards were traded, and Kobe started all 50 games in the shortened season.After the season ended, Kobe and the Lakers signed a six-year, $6 million contract.

In 1999, the Lakers signed the legendary coach "Zen Master" Phil Jackson who led the Bulls to complete two and three consecutive championships, and officially launched an impact on the championship.

Zen Master was only a role player during his player period, but he can rank among the presidents in the field of coaching in the NBA.

In 1987, Zen Master joined the Bulls coaching staff as an assistant coach and became the head coach in 1989.That year, he started his own triangle offense and achieved good results.

In the 1990-93 season, Jackson led Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen to complete three consecutive championships.

In the 1995-98 season, Zen Master once again led the team to complete three consecutive championships. In 1998, Zen Master's contract expired and he left the Bulls.

After a year of unemployment, the Zen master returned to the coach and coached the Lakers who had always failed in the West in the past few years.

In the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers' record improved by leaps and bounds, with 67 wins and 15 losses in the regular season, ranking first in the Western Conference. O'Neal won the All-Star and regular season MVP.In the playoffs, the Lakers went all the way, defeated the Trail Blazers in seven games in the Western Conference Finals, and then defeated the Indiana Pacers in the Finals to be crowned the championship.O'Neal was elected FMVP.

In the 2000-01 season, the Lakers continued their strong performance, and even played an extremely strong dominance in the playoffs. With a record of 15 wins and 1 loss, there was no suspense in defending the title. O'Neal won the FMVP consecutively.The only loss in the playoffs was to the rebellious Iverson and the 76ers led by him.

In the 2001-02 season, the Lakers encountered challenges in the Western Conference Finals, but eventually defeated the Kings, who had home court advantage, in a tiebreaker and reached the Finals again.The New Jersey Nets were no match for the Lakers at all and were swept out.

The Lakers completed three consecutive championships, the third time Zen master achieved this achievement.O'Neal, like Jordan, has won the FMVP for three consecutive years.

In the 2002-03 season, O'Neal refused to have toe surgery in the summer, resulting in only 67 games in the season.At that time, Kobe averaged 30 points per game, but was eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, ending his consecutive championships.At the beginning of this season, conflicts between Kobe and O'Neal began to emerge.

In the 2003-04 season, veterans Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers to form the strongest fantasy lineup in the league, and once again returned to the finals.But in the finals, they lost to the civilian Pistons and lost the series 1-4.

The conflict between Kobe and O'Neal intensified, and the team could only leave one player.In the end, the old Buss decided to keep Kobe, traded O'Neal to the Heat, in exchange for Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler, and began to rebuild.

Zen Master Jackson did not want to accompany the team to rebuild, and sadly stepped down as the head coach of the Lakers.

In the first year of joining the Heat, O'Neal and Wade helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals, but due to Wade's accidental injury, he failed to reach the Finals.In the following season, O'Neal and Wade led the team to the finals, and reversed from a 0-2 deficit to win the Heat's first championship in history.

The fourth championship was O'Neal's last brilliance. In the following years, he played for the Suns, Cavaliers, and Celtics, but failed to win another championship.

(End of this chapter)