2003-04: A season unlike any other Purchasing the Los
Angeles Lakers franchise in 1979, last season marked the 25th year of Dr. Jerry
Buss’ ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers, a season falling just three wins
shy of the perfect anniversary gift. Losing in five games to the Detroit Pistons
in the NBA Finals, the 2003-04 Lakers enjoyed their share of spectacular highlights
despite battling both injury and the treacherous Western Conference night in and
night out. Teaming future Hall-of-Famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone along
with perennial All-Stars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant gave the Lakers
one of the most decorated starting line-ups in league history. Starting the regular
season as winners of 20 of their first 25 games, Los Angeles entered a December
21st meeting with the Phoenix Suns as the most dangerous team in basketball. The
Lakers defeated the Suns that night but lost Karl Malone to a sprained right knee,
an injury that would keep him out of the next 39 games. The Lakers could not rid
themselves of the injury bug as players seemed to fall nightly over the next few
months of the NBA schedule.
Prior to his injury, Karl Malone
notched his name in history once again by surpassing Robert Parish for 6th all-time
in career rebounds November 19th against the Knicks. In addition, he became the
oldest player (only player over the age of 40), to register a triple-double in
a regular season game November 28th against the Spurs at STAPLES Center. With
Malone sidelined, the Lakers were never quite the same but maintained their course,
making easy prey of the Atlanta Hawks by defeating the visitors 116-67 in front
of the hometown faithful. The Lakers’ 46-point victory tied for the fifth
largest margin of victory in franchise history as the golden clad Lakers held
the Hawks to franchise lows for points in a first quarter (7) and half (28). Entering
the All-Star break with a 31-19 record, the Lakers sent two representatives to
the midseason classic held at STAPLES Center while the rest of the team finally
had a chance to catch its collective breath before embarking on the home stretch
of the season. Kobe Bryant, voted as a Western Conference starter for the sixth-consecutive
time, represented the Lakers well by scoring 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting from
the floor to lead all starters. Shaquille O’Neal, entering the game as a
reserve, proved to be the most dominating player, tallying 24 points and 11 rebounds
while earning his second All-Star MVP award in front of the hometown crowd at
STAPLES Center. Following the All-Star break, the Lakers entered the second
half of the season poised to regain their championship luster of prior years,
winning seven of their first eight games after the layoff. During that stretch,
Kobe Bryant recorded his ninth career triple-double with 25 points, 14 rebounds
and 10 assists in a 122-110 win over the Washington Wizards. The Lakers
entered the playoffs as winners in 14 of their final 17 regular season games and
with a great deal of momentum thanks in large part to the heroics of Kobe Bryant
on April 14th in Portland. Behind a pair of Bryant buzzer-beating three-pointers,
the first to send it to overtime and the second for the win in double-overtime,
the Lakers clinched their 18th Pacific Division Championship with a 105-104 victory
over the Trailblazers, finishing the season with a record of 56-26. After
recording their 27th 50-win season in Los Angeles, the Lakers defeated the Houston
Rockets (4-1), San Antonio Spurs (4-2), and Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2) before
falling to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. Although falling three games
shy of their ultimate goal, this team for the ages left us with the memory of
Karl Malone and a torn jersey in Houston, of Kobe Bryant posting 42 points against
San Antonio after arriving at the arena late and of 0.4 seconds and Derek Fisher
answering Tim Duncan’s improbable buzzer beater with one of his own. While
the ending was indeed disappointing, the ride was one basketball fans will remember
for years to come.
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