The art of four-peating

By M. Edward Guest Sports Central Columnist

I remember growing up and listening to everyone describe just how difficult it was to win three NBA championships in a row. Larry Bird's Boston Celtics won two out of three ('84 and '86) and made the NBA Finals four consecutive years, but three in a row was out of their reach. Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers actually went back-to-back ('87 and '88) and made the NBA Finals seven out of eight times, but they could never accomplish it, either.

Then came Michael Jordan, and later, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, and suddenly three-peating, or three-straight championships became kind of a run-of-the-mill thing, occurring three times in barely over a decade -- with Coach Phil Jackson as a key participant in each stint.

But four in a row? Five in a row is rather elite, only the New York Yankees of Casey Stengel (1949-1953, despite never winning 100 games in any of those campaigns) and the Montreal Canadians of Toe Blake (1956-1960) have ever managed to do that. The last major-sports team to capture four consecutive championships was the New York Islanders of Al Arbour (1980-1983), a juggernaut that was finally stymied by Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers in 1984.

In other sports, the New York Yankees came within three outs, with Mariano Rivera on the hill no less, from duplicating the feat of the legendary 1936-1939 Yankees of Joe McCarthy -- but their run (1998-2000) was to last only three years. Scotty Bowman's cerebral Canadians bounced the Broadstreet Bullies of Philadelphia in 1976, set records in '77, and ultimately won four-straight Stanley Cups.

The Chicago Bulls of '94, even without the services of Jordan, might have triumphed once again, had they not been outdone by the "phantom foul" on Scottie Pippen in the closing seconds of a tense playoff game at Madison Square Garden. We don't need to mention the fate of the '99 Bulls in their pursuit of four-peating; some things are better left unsaid.

Babe Ruth, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (in the NBA), Wilt Chamberlain, or Gordie Howe -- for all their successes, never won four in a row. The Los Angeles Lakers, or principally Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, have such an opportunity this spring, but, oh yeah, there's one other team I haven't mentioned.

Boston. 1957-1969, or specifically 1959-1966. Eight in a row, several of those coming at the expense of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in Game 7s. Bill Russell's Celtics set a standard that is likely, depending on Bryant's contract decision next summer, never to be equaled. It has been endlessly debated whether the nature of the era (specifically the far fewer teams, and one less playoff round) made it easier or more difficult for the C's in their heyday, but the Lakers, as they draw closer and closer to the Celtics' championship record (they've already played in far more NBA Finals) are beginning to draw comparisons.

They came back from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit in Game 7 of the '00 Western Conference Finals, to secure the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance since 1991 and first title since 1988. But no win, perhaps since the 76ers beat back the Garden ghosts in the finale of the '82 Eastern Finals, was as impressive as their Russell-like triumph, in a Game 7, on the other team's floor -- we speak of their OT defeat of No. 1-seed Sacramento at Arco Arena. Both Magic and Michael, once in their careers, played a Game 7 on the road -- both lost, each to the eventual NBA champion ('84 Celtics and '90 Pistons, respectively).

Their road, conceivably, could be Minnesota, San Antonio, and then Dallas or Sacramento, and then the East. Their ability to win Game 1 after Game 1, and in some cases Game 2 after Game 2, is remarkable -- but is their team really proficient enough to withstand three more assaults, assuming K.G. doesn't carry Minnesota to the second-round?

This Lakers' team's place in history is already secure, but they just might be on the cusp of joining a real elite fraternity, that of four-time champs. Should they accomplish that, well, only the Canadians and the Yankees are on a higher plane. One wonders whether this would force the 1960s Celtics to act as undignified as the '72 Dolphins, and attempt to hex the Lakers' run, but I don't think so. Until they go for eight.

Shaq is in his 11th-season, his seventh (and Kobe's) in L.A. Before he joined the great movie critic society in the sky, Bulls partisan Gene Siskel lamented how truly close his team was to tying Russell's eight championships in a row, and how M.J. would have had to (in '99) come back for the record.

These Lakers, recognizing the strain of going for four (let alone eight), if Kobe signs on to be a career member of the Lakers, may just challenge Boston for most powerful dynasty in NBA history. That having been said, can they really win potentially three-straight Game 1s on the road? This team has never played down 0-1, it would certainly give them something to ponder, and just another challenge to overcome.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.