History of The Los Angeles Lakers - 2007-2011: Bryant and Gasol

2007-2011: Bryant and Gasol

The Lakers started the 2007–08 NBA season surprisingly well. Fueled by the emergence of Andrew Bynum as a main option at center, the Lakers would even enjoy being the number one team in the Western Conference for three days. Capped by an early season trade for Trevor Ariza, rumors of Bryant wanting to leave Los Angeles were finally beginning to die. However, before the Lakers could savor their new success, Bynum would go down with a knee injury that would take him out for the remainder of the season. Suddenly, the contending Lakers would lose three straight games. The remainder of the season looked bleak for the Lakers, who were struggling to win games. It seemed that injuries, once again, would cripple another Laker season.

On February 1, 2008, the Lakers dealt the unpopular Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, veteran Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, and first round picks in 2008 and 2010 for Spaniard all-star forward Pau Gasol (Marc's older brother) and a second round draft choice in 2010.

With the Lakers now having a center and power forward who are both 7 feet tall, analysts have referred to Gasol and Bynum as "the twin towers," similar to famous NBA duos such as Tim Duncan and David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Bill Cartwright, and the original named duo of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Even while waiting for Bynum's return, the Lakers were playing very well and got a second taste of being best in the Western Conference.

With Kobe Bryant leading the charge with his MVP-caliber season, the month of April was very triumphant for the Lakers, who quickly surged to the top of Western Conference. Aided by Gasol's versatile abilities and Lamar Odom's stellar play as a third option, the Lakers clinched their playoff berth for the 55th time in their 60 years with the league, won the Pacific Division from the Phoenix Suns (their first since Shaq left in 2004), and clinched the number one seed in the Western Conference for the first time since the 1999-00 NBA season. Bryant was also named the 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable Player. Entering the post-season, the Lakers would post a 12-3 record entering the Finals. However, problems suddenly arose when the Lakers faced the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals. The Celtics, the best-record team during the regular season, convincingly beat the Lakers 4-2 in the best of 7 series.

In the 2009 season, the Lakers had only one goal in mind: "ring" (their huddle chant throughout the season). In January, the Lakers would again lose Andrew Bynum to injury. Bynum would return for the last few games of the regular season, and the Lakers ended up with a record of 65-17. In the playoffs, Los Angeles easily beat the Utah Jazz in the first round, but faced a tough Houston Rockets team the next round. Though the Rockets stunned the Staples Center crowd with a Game 1 win, the Lakers took the series in seven, with most games of the series ending as a blowout. The Denver Nuggets kept the next round tight for L.A., until the Lakers blew them out in Game 6, winning the conference championship. In the Finals against the Orlando Magic, several games were close, but the Lakers still won 4-1 and were crowned NBA Champions for the first time in 7 years. Kobe Bryant was named the Finals MVP.

On July 3, 2009, the Lakers signed Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest to a five-year contract to replace Lakers forward Trevor Ariza who signed with the Rockets. The Lakers once again won the Western Conference and made it to their third straight finals. In the 2010 NBA Finals, the Lakers were rematched with the Boston Celtics. Faced against much of the same roster that they had played with in 2008, the series played out very tightly, with both teams trading wins for the first four games. After the Celtics won a decisive game 5, the series moved back to Los Angeles where the Lakers would win in a rout. Coming down to the fifth game 7 in the rivalry's history, Boston played well in the early goings of the match. However, the Lakers would rally in the fourth quarter to a raging Staples Center crowd. Led by Bryant and Gasol's rebounding, and with clutch shots from Ron Artest and Derek Fisher, the Lakers would win their franchise's sixteenth NBA championship. Bryant was awarded his second consecutive Finals Most Valuable Player Award.

In the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers advanced past the first round by defeating the New Orleans Hornets 4-2. However, the Dallas Mavericks swept the Lakers and ended Phil Jackson's career with a 36 point blowout in Game 4.