#ThrowbackThursday: Lords of the Rings – Kobe Bryant Wins 4th, Phil Jackson Earns 10th in 2009 NBA Finals

The 2009 NBA Finals was a matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. The Lakers obtained home-court advantage in the Finals due to having the best record in the NBA. On the way to the Finals, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 4-1 in the first round and barely escaped the Houston Rockets 4-3 in the Conference Semifinals. They defeated the no. 2 seed Denver Nuggets 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals to become Western Conference Champions. The Orlando Magic defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round 4-2 and defeated the defending NBA Champions and No. 2 seed Boston Celtics 4-3. The Magic shocked the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 4-2 series win and became Eastern Conference Champions.

The Magic and Lakers beat some of the best teams in the NBA on their way to the Finals. Most analysts predicted LeBron James (Cavaliers) to face Kobe Bryant (Lakers) in the Finals. Dwight Howard was the star of the Orlando Magic and LeBron vs. Kobe was the matchup that would have drawn bigger ratings for the NBA. The Lakers defeated the Magic 100-75 in game 1. Kobe had a sensational game with 40 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists becoming fourth player in Finals history to put up those type of numbers in a game. In game 2, the Lakers won in overtime 101-96. They were led by Bryant 29 points and 8 assists and Pau Gasol 24 points and 10 rebounds. Rashard Lewis had an all-around game with 34 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the Magic.

The Magic returned to the Orlando for game 3 and the next three games, Dwight Howard 21 points and 13 rebounds help the Magic win 108-104. Kobe 31 points and 8 assists wasn’t enough to help the Lakers take a 3-0 lead. In game 4, Lakers guard Derek Fisher made a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds remaining to send the game in OT. The Lakers were able to win 99-91. Kobe had an all-around game with 32 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds for the Lakers and Howard had 16 points, 21 rebounds and 9 blocks for the Magic. The Lakers took a 3-1 lead with the chance to end the series in Orlando with a game 5 victory.

The Lakers won game 5 with a 99-86 victory and earned the franchise 15th NBA Championship. Kobe had another great game with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks earning NBA Finals MVP. Gasol, Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza played well as Kobe’s supporting cast and made it possible for Kobe to get his fourth championship. Lakers coach Phil Jackson passed Red Auerbach for most championships by a coach in NBA history with 10. This was Jackson’s fourth championship with the Lakers. Kobe won his first championship without Shaquille O’Neal and went on to win his fifth championship the next season against the Celtics.

Kobe will become one of the top 10 players of all-time once he retires. And in my opinion, he is the second best shooting guard of all-time behind Michael Jordan.

Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images(photo 1), Ronald Martinez/NBAE/GettyImages, Andrew D. Berstein/NBAE/Getty Images