Lakers are Franchise of the Decade: Part 5

The Lakers reached the NBA Finals again in 2008 for one reason. They acquired forward Pau Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. He added scoring and rebounding to compliment Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers were the number one team in the western conference and reached the Finals against archrivals, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics won in 6 games, and their tougness was too much for the Lakers,who appeared soft in all areas.

The goal for 2009, apart from winning the championship, was for the Lakers to get tougher, meaner, and better on defense. Young forward Trevor Ariza played exceptional, and his play earned him a very large contract with the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2009.

The Lakers were once again the West’s best team in 2009, and advanced to the NBA FInals again versus the Orlando Magic. The Lakers were too experienced, and far better than the Magic in all areas.

Veteran point guard Derek Fisher hit some clutch three pointers in games 3 and 4, and the Lakers won the Finals, and Kobe was the Finals MVP.

The Lakers closed the decade with 4 titles in 6 NBA Finals appearances. They were the most dominant team in terms of both regular season and playoff success. The Spurs did very well too, but the Lakers were nearly a lock to win the title almost every year in the 2000’s.