’08 Lakers Mirror the ’01 Sixers
(Kobe Bryant photo by Chris Sembrot; Allen Iverson photo by Gary Land)
As the NBA’s standing versions of the ’86 Patriots and Peter McNeeley, the 2001 Sixers and 2007 Cavaliers are generally considered the worst Finals teams of all-time. After last night’s epic Game 4 collapse, allow me to stick the ’08 Lakers in that group.
Really, the parallels between the ’08 Lakers and the ’01 Sixers are too plentiful to ignore. Most L.A. fans I’ve proposed this to tend to bust a forehead vein arguing against it, but consider the evidence:
The Sixers were led by a Hall of Fame coach with a disposition of superiority (Larry Brown) and a sometimes-controversial Hall of Fame scoring guard having an MVP season (Allen Iverson). They had an All-Star caliber center who vacillated between “dominant” and “below-average” (Dikembe Mutombo) and was a mid-season acquisition brought in to replace an injured starter (Theo Ratliff). Philly’s role players occasionally had great games, but generally just did their respective jobs in the system, holding down the fort throughout the regular season and the first three rounds of the playoffs while their superstar did the heaviest lifting (Aaron McKie, Tyrone Hill, George Lynch, Eric Snow).
This year’s Lakers have the Hall of Fame coach that oozes “I’m better than you” (Phil Jackson), and the Hall of Fame guard having an MVP season (Kobe Bryant) who can be problematic. They have the up-and-down All-Star center (Pau Gasol) who’s replacing the injured starter (Andrew Bynum). They have the role players who did their jobs at a high level for 100-plus games, supported their superstar, but have had all of their flaws exposed in the Finals (Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic, Vlad Radmanovic, Luke Walton).
Now here’s where you have to talk the Lakers’ fans off the ledge, because the biggest misconception about the ’01 Sixers is that they were somehow a bad team. Not true at all. The ’01 Sixers won 56 games in the regular season and earned the #1 seed in the East. On their way to the Finals they knocked off the defending conference champs (Indiana) and took out three teams featuring elite scorers who were playing at, approaching, or not far removed from their respective primes: Reggie Miller (Pacers), Vince Carter (Raptors) and Ray Allen (Bucks).
The Lakers won 57 games this regular season and earned the #1 seed in the West. They knocked off the defending champs (Spurs) in the playoffs, took out the League’s deadliest scoring combo in Carmelo Anthony and A.I. (Nuggets), and eliminated one of the NBA’s toughest home-court teams with one of the League’s most efficient offenses (Jazz). Possible future Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Robert Horry, Deron Williams, Iverson and ‘Melo all lay in Kobe’s wake.
The ’08 Lakers are a good team, as were the ’01 Sixers led by Iverson, and I originally picked the Lakers to beat the Celtics in this series. But these first four games have shown that Kobe’s crew just isn’t anywhere near the dominant squad so many people made them out to be going into the Finals. (Other than style of play, that is actually the biggest difference; no one gave the Sixers a chance in the ’01 Finals.) What this year’s Lakers are is a quality team being carried by a peaking superstar, a group who got hot at the right time. Just like Philly.
But in the end, they just ran into a better team when the championship was on the line. And there’s no shame in that. But there are no rings, either.
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June 13th, 2008 at 9:48 am
djKianoosh says:
bravo. i didn’t believe it at first, but i’ve been convinced. thing is, that ’01 Lakers teams was waaaaay better than this Celtics team. Shaq was at his MDE level. That alone trumps anything the C’s have this year.
I’d also say Mutombo-Gasol have a lot in common despite having totally different games. Mutombo really helped the Sixers defensively to be able to get out of the first three rounds. Gasol the same impact, but on the offensive end. Both struggled in the finals even though they had some moments.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Big Mike *H-Town Baby* says:
well written. that’s the truth right there. boston is just the deeper team…
June 13th, 2008 at 9:52 am
fallinup says:
Your comparisons are shockingly accurate. But one must remember that the 01 Sixers came out of what I think was the peak of the “Leastern Conference”. And the 01 Lakers of the time were heavily, heavily favored. Which is why everyone was in shock when Philly stole game 1.
This time around, the 08 Lakers were I think, heavily favored. And they are the last team standing in what was arguably the best conference ever in the history of the NBA. Everyone was on Kobe’s jock, and I don’t recall any AI to MJ comparisons. The 08 Lakers, had rest on their side, and easily handled the defending champs plus Denver and Utah. The 01 Sixers, were pretty much outta gas when the Finals came around after some awesome series with Toronto and Milwaukee.
But why Boston won this series was the reason why I picked them to win. DEFENSE
Plus the Lakers are just outmatched heavily on the frontline. Everyone gets so enamoured by a flashy-badass offense, that they forget the old tagline:
“Offense wins games, defense wins championships.”
June 13th, 2008 at 10:07 am
miamiVIS3 says:
I guess kobe squashed my theory about how the leagues best player doesn’t let his team blow a 20+ point lead at home.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:10 am
fallinup says:
WWMJD???
Not that, miami. Haha.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:13 am
E$ says:
“Started out Ballin’/ ended up Choking” – Lil’ Wayne
June 13th, 2008 at 10:15 am
word says:
wow Austin thats messed up you wrote a post about this, i thought the same thing last night. I just saw Kobe and thought AI circa 01. I used to love AI back then, but that was the biggest letdown of his career, and this might be kobes
but GO CELTICS.. !!! huge come back damn I loved that game
June 13th, 2008 at 10:16 am
word says:
they need Bynum, his injury was what made me know the Celts had a chance cuz they need another big man, Gasol plays no D
June 13th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Benoit Benjamin says:
Couldn’t agree more. LA was the fancy pick before the finals started after their impressive playoffs, but Boston is just a better, deeper team; And far more hungry and season proven; they’ll take it in 6. But watch the lakers for next year when bynum is back.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Dagomar says:
Good article!
At first you had me doubting, but it sounds about right. To me the difference is still that LA’s supporting cast is much more talented than Philly’s ever was, but still . . . when/if we right the Lakers’ obituary this year, we may well be looking back to those sixers. Nice post.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:22 am
fallinup says:
Oh, and for your viewing pleasure.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FghxweP_HYg
June 13th, 2008 at 10:28 am
The Jed says:
I kind of think this Lakers team beats that Philly team pretty easily though. No?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Uhm... says:
yes
June 13th, 2008 at 10:42 am
doc says:
They role players are better than ours.Aint nobody pick the Sixers to win a game.Everybody had Lakers in 5.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Big Freeze says:
I officially jumped off the Kobe bandwagon after last night’s meltdown. After the Lakers handled the Spurs, I was gassin my self up about how Kobe was as good, maybe better, than MJ. After watching Kobe turn into the 2005 Kobe where he just jacked up contested jumpers, and his bums just stood there and watched, it is now clear that Kobe and the Lakers aren’t as good as everyone originally thought.
However, the series isn’t over and if they win game 5 it is a series again. Austin should have waited to the Finals to be over before posting this article, because if the Lakers do miraculously win the Chip, then this post is null and void.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:55 am
yallallreadyknow says:
nah man…you reaching on this comparison AB.
that sixer team had the coach of the year (larry brown), defensive player of the year (deke), sixth man of the year (aaron mckie) AND the mvp (bubba).
but even still, this laker team is better overall. the comparison is a stretch and ur reaching.
the sixers were hella lucky. 2001 season belonged to the Miami Heat…
..they had timmy hardaway, dan majerle, jamal mashburn and brian grant. the problem with the 2001 heat was that alonzo mourning had the kidney problems that season.
people forget the heat re-tooled that off season and were loaded…but they never got the chance since mourning was injured and it set the franchise back. he had not been injured, the HEAT would have had the best record in the NBA and would have had home court against the lakers in the finals.
i dunno if miami would have beat them (the 2001 laker team was the best out of the 3yr run), but we would have seen shaq/zo final in the middle
and better yet…pat riley vs phil jackson in an nba final. imagine all the celebs that would have showed up for that series….
June 13th, 2008 at 11:51 am
krip says:
I would love to see the Lakers come back and win the series and for you, sir, to eat your ridiculous claim.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Yeah that ’01 Lakers team was one of the best of all time and I don’t even think this ’08 Boston team could have beat them. If you look back at how dominant Shaq was back then (Dude was chizzled)there is no one and I mean no one that could have stopped him…especially with Kobe out on the peremiter.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
GEE...The 900 number! says:
All we need is Kobe to hit a shot and step over a player to complete it. Oh yea and put his hand to his ear.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
bron42 aka coffee black says:
AI’s team was muchhhhhh worse….And kobe crossin rondo and steppin over him like iverson did to lue woud just be uncalled for Gee lol
June 13th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
djKianoosh says:
makes me appreciate AI even more… sniff..
June 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Homeless J says:
Great article.
does anyone know if Spike still has like 70 cameras on Kobe at all times during games? What if he’s been filming some documentary like the one they did on Jordan’s last Bulls championship season and it ends in a 4-1 rout.
it would be like a porn movie with no climax shot. the viagra wore off too soon.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
lakerssuck says:
i guess kb24!’s mouth is too full of kobe’s dick to respond
June 13th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Dennis Castro says:
Austin, you forgot to mention the parallel between George Lynch and Bynum. Both got lost at points in the season, although Lynch got hurt much later.
But it’s clear that had both of these guys been healthy, these 2 teams would be very different.
Lynch was a defensive 3 that hit timely jumpers and was one of the glue guys for that ’01 Sixer team.
Also, Eric Snow was playing on a broken foot. I think that’s worth a mention.
Bynum is maybe their best rebounder, and the Lakers have been exposed in the playoffs for being a poor rebounding team.
I’m not saying the Sixers could have beaten the ’01 Lakers team for sure with Lynch, but strange things have happened, like coming back from 24 down in the Finals.
June 14th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Bron42 had springs before slamball says:
iveron has a bunch of past their prime journey men (snow, mckie, lynch, even mutumbo at that point)Outside of iverson, no one could even score a basket.Who was gonna keep the offense guessin? eric snows broke jump shot? kobe has supposed up and comers either in their prime or getting there. Bynum would of helped but not THAT much, its not like he was shaq. He would of pretty much been equal to kendrick perkins, who the celts just happen to be winning without for the most part. Even at his best, bynum wasn’t really a dwight howard type bruiser or shot blocker, so its not like he would of locked up kg or really altered teh game much other than adding other big with 6 fouls who cant dribble or shoot.
June 14th, 2008 at 3:40 am
tealish says:
There are similarities, yes. But that group AI carried on his back to the big dance don’t come that close to these 2008 Lakers. Forget about Game 4 for a second. That massive collapse clouds judgement and throws us all into the hyperbolie dimension.
Look at the team. From top to bottom, they are better than those ’01 Sixers. Every guy on the Lakers can hit shots. A handful of guys are capable of putting up 18 points on any given day. That Sixer team would be happy if they had one quasi-legitimate second option on offense.
Defense was their (the 01 sixers) strength. They played hard on both ends, but their commitment to stopping the other team was a notch above.
However, overall that team does not compare. And if we’re looking at strictly talent, they are in completely different leagues. …I’ll never forget Game 1 of those 2001 finals….
June 15th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Maynard says:
Yeah, guy above is right. Lakers are much better than those Sixers were and have a more cohesive idea around them. While both teams are built around one superstar, this team dominated a deep West while Iverson rose to the top of a conference in which all of the top teams were at about the same level. This comparison doesn’t really hold much water.
June 15th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Austin Burton says:
The Lakers didn’t “dominate” the West. The won a couple more games than the #2 seed.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
ERIC says:
The 2007 Cavs are EASILY the worst team EVER to make an NBA finals.
Hands down…Game Over
June 28th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
xfactor says:
The ’01 Sixers were much better before the finals rolled around. They dominated the league until Theo Ratliff went down. The Mutombo trade was a gamble that almost paid off, but the whole team was banged up horribly after two 7 game series to get to the Finals.
These ’08 Lakers wouldn’t have beat that banged up ’01 Sixer team, and if healthy, those Sixers would have gone to another game 7 against Shaq and Kobe.
The Answer: those Sixers had more heart than these Lakers.