Sixers put up valiant effort and gain respect

By John Nothdurft Sports Central Columnist

Just think of the drama that could have been: Game Seven, Lakers down by one, ten seconds left in the game. Kobe Bryant brings the ball down the floor while being pressured by Allen Iverson, five seconds left. Shaq fights off two defenders to get the ball in the low post, three seconds, two seconds, one second, and Shaq is fouled! He sinks the first free throw, and then swishes the second to win the championship for the Lakers!

As most of you all know, there was to be none of that. There was no exciting Game Seven like the Stanley Cup Finals. This was not a down-to-the-wire series many fans anticipated. Instead, the Lakers chose to end it all by winning the NBA championship in convincing fashion, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in five games.

While going undefeated was impossible after the Game One loss, the Lakers still ended up with the best record ever in a playoff run, besting the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers record of 12-1 with a 15-1 record of their own. The Lakers repeated as NBA champions. Phil Jackson won his eighth NBA championship in the last dozen years that he's coached, in addition to the two he earned while playing. Shaq brought home the Finals MVP award after averaging 33 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists throughout the championship series. There was absolutely nothing that the 76ers could do to stop Shaq, who proved that he is one of the most dominating players ever to play the game.

The Philadelphia 76ers put up a valiant effort, and unlike most of the previous Western Conference series, a large number of these games were competitive. Given absolutely no chance at winning any games this series, the 76ers shocked the world by pulling out game one, and almost did the same in game two. All of this while almost everybody on the roster should be on injured reserve, whether it be due to a broken foot, bruised ribs, or broken fingers (just to name a few of the numerous injuries suffered by the 76ers' players). Though the 76ers came up short of their ultimate goal, the team earned much due respect from people around the world.

His team down 3-1, Allen Iverson was once asked by a reporter about how much energy he still had left in order to try to keep the series alive. His response: "I got enough in my gas tank, you know, to keep driving. But I don't know when it's gonna run out. Hopefully, we can win this next game and I find out in Los Angeles."

The series never got back to Los Angeles. Congratulations to the Lakers, who have repeated as NBA champions.