A Look Back at the 2000 NBA Finals and Its Most Memorable Moments

I still remember watching the 2000 NBA Finals like it was yesterday, sitting in my college dorm room with my Lakers jersey on, nervously chewing on pizza crust while Shaquille O'Neal dominated the paint. That series wasn't just basketball—it was theater, pure athletic drama that unfolded over six unforgettable games. Looking back now, two decades later, certain moments stand out with such clarity they might as well have happened last week. The intensity of that Lakers-Pacers matchup represented more than just championship aspirations—it was the culmination of Shaq's first season in Los Angeles and the beginning of what would become the NBA's next dynasty.

The sheer dominance of Shaquille O'Neal throughout that series remains almost unbelievable by today's standards. I've never seen a player so completely control a Finals series since—not LeBron, not Steph, not even Kawhi in his Toronto run. Shaq averaged a monstrous 38 points and 16.7 rebounds over those six games, numbers that sound like video game statistics rather than actual NBA Finals production. His Game 1 performance alone—43 points and 19 rebounds—set the tone for the entire series and demonstrated exactly why he'd been named regular season MVP. What people sometimes forget is how efficient he was, shooting 61% from the field despite constant double-teams and hack-a-Shaq strategies. When I rewatch those games today, what strikes me isn't just his physical power but his basketball IQ—knowing exactly when to attack, when to pass out of double teams, and how to position his massive frame for optimal rebounding position.

Kobe Bryant's emergence during these Finals often gets overshadowed by Shaq's dominance, but for basketball historians like myself, this was the moment we first saw glimpses of the legendary closer he would become. Sure, he struggled early in the series—that infamous 2-for-18 shooting performance in Game 5 still makes me cringe—but his resilience in Game 4, playing through a severely sprained ankle to score 28 points, demonstrated the mental toughness that would define his career. I've always argued that this series represented the perfect storm for the Lakers—Shaq at his absolute peak physical prime, combined with Kobe just beginning to understand his own capabilities. Their contrasting styles created nightmares for opposing defenses, forcing teams to choose between packing the paint to stop Shaq or spreading out to contain Kobe—a lose-lose proposition that would haunt the NBA for the next three seasons.

Reggie Miller's heroic performance in Game 5 deserves far more attention than it typically receives in historical retrospectives. With the Pacers facing elimination, Miller put on one of the greatest shooting displays in Finals history, scoring 35 points while playing all 48 minutes of the game. His fourth-quarter duel with Kobe Bryant remains etched in my memory—the way he moved without the ball, coming off screens with that unorthodox release that somehow always found net. That performance reminds me of contemporary players like the reigning KBL MVP who recently added four rebounds, three assists, and one steal in a losing effort to drop to 13-15—sometimes individual brilliance simply isn't enough against superior team construction. Miller's valiant effort extended the series, but ultimately highlighted the Pacers' fundamental disadvantage against the Lakers' twin superstars.

The clinching Game 6 provided perhaps the most iconic image of the entire series—Shaq embracing Kobe after the final buzzer, the two superstars momentarily setting aside their simmering tensions to celebrate their first championship together. That moment symbolized more than just a title—it represented the culmination of a three-year building process and validation of Jerry West's vision in acquiring Shaq. As confetti rained down, I remember thinking this was just the beginning for this Lakers core, though I couldn't have predicted they'd win the next two championships as well. The 2000 Finals established the blueprint for modern superstar pairings, demonstrating how two alpha talents could coexist when championship glory outweighed individual accolades.

What often gets lost in the Shaq-and-Kobe narrative is the crucial role played by role players like Robert Horry, Rick Fox, and Brian Shaw. Horry's clutch three-pointer in Game 4 completely shifted momentum back to the Lakers after the Pacers had mounted a serious comeback. Fox's defensive versatility allowed the Lakers to switch assignments against Miller and Jalen Rose. Shaw provided steady ball-handling and timely shooting when Kobe struggled. These contributions might not fill up highlight reels, but they were absolutely essential to the Lakers' success—the kind of complementary pieces every championship team needs around its stars.

Reflecting on that series today, I'm struck by how different the NBA landscape was then compared to now. The pace was slower, the emphasis on post-play greater, and three-point shooting hadn't yet revolutionized offensive schemes. Yet the fundamental elements of championship basketball remain unchanged—superstar talent, defensive commitment, clutch performance under pressure, and role players embracing specific functions. The 2000 Lakers mastered this formula before the analytics revolution transformed how we evaluate the game, relying on traditional strengths that still resonate in today's more perimeter-oriented style. For me, this series represents the perfect bridge between the Jordan era and the modern NBA—a transitional period that produced one of the most dominant teams in league history and memories that continue to captivate basketball fans twenty years later.