page_title: Los Angeles Lakers
section_title: 1996–2004: O'Neal and Bryant dynasty
hierarchical_section_title: Los Angeles Lakers / Team history / 1996–2016: The Kobe Bryant era / 1996–2004: O'Neal and Bryant dynasty
caption_attribution_description: English: President George W. Bush looks up as he welcomes Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers in the East Room of the White House. Back: Samaki Walker, Jelani McCoy, Lindsey Hunter, Slava Medvedenko, Mitch Richmond, Robert Horry Front: Kobe Bryant (covered), Shaquille O'Neal, Brian Shaw, George W. Bush, Rick Fox, Phil Jackson, Devean George (covered), Mark Madsen This followed the Lakers' 2001 NBA championship.
context_page_description: The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, and have won 16 NBA championships, the second-most behind the Boston Celtics.
  The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League. The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they would win five of the next six championships, led by star George Mikan. After struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikan's retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season.
context_section_description: During the 1996 off-season, the Lakers acquired 17-year-old Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets for Vlade Divac; Bryant was drafted 13th overall out of Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania in that year's draft, by Charlotte. Los Angeles also signed free-agent Shaquille O'Neal. Trading for Bryant was West's idea, and he was influential in the team's signing of the all-star center. "Jerry West is the reason I came to the Lakers", O'Neal later said. They used their 24th pick in the 1996 draft to select Derek Fisher. During the season, the team traded Cedric Ceballos to Phoenix for Robert Horry. O'Neal led the team to a 56–26 record, their best effort since 1990–91, despite missing 31 games due to a knee injury. O'Neal averaged 26.2 ppg and 12.5 rpg and finished third in the league in blocked shots (2.88 bpg) in 51 games. The Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs as O'Neal scored 46 points in Game 1 against the Trail Blazers, marking the highest single-game playoff scoring output by a Laker since Jerry West scored 53 against the Celtics in 1969. In the next round, the Lakers lost in five games to the Utah Jazz.
  In the 1997–98 season, O'Neal and the Lakers had the best start in franchise history, 11–0. O'Neal would miss 20 games on the season due to an abdominal injury. Los Angeles battled Seattle for the Pacific Division title most of the season. In the final two months, the Lakers won 22 of their final 25 games, finishing 61–21, but still finished second to Seattle in the standings. The Lakers defeated Portland three games to one in the first round to advance to face Seattle. Although the Sonics won the first game, the Lakers responded with four straight wins, taking the series, but were swept by the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.
  During the 1998–99 season, All-Star guard Eddie Jones and center Elden Campbell were traded to the Charlotte Hornets. The team also acquired J. R. Reid, B. J. Armstrong, and Glen Rice. Head coach Del Harris was fired in February after a three-game losing streak and replaced on an interim basis by former Laker Kurt Rambis. The team finished 31–19 in the strike-shortened season, which was fourth in the Western Conference. The Lakers defeated Houston in the first round of the playoffs, but were swept by San Antonio in the next round. Game four of the series would be the last game ever played at the Great Western Forum.
  Before the 1999–2000 season, West was prepared to hire Rambis as the team's full-time coach before an outcry from fans and members of the organization caused him to seek out a bigger name. Los Angeles hired former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who had coached that team to six championships, and gave him a lucrative $6 million a year contract. He brought along assistant Tex Winter and they installed Winter's version of the triangle offense. The Lakers signed veterans Brian Shaw, John Salley, Ron Harper, and A. C. Green, who was a Laker during the "Showtime" era. The team also moved to a new arena, the Staples Center.
  Led by league MVP O'Neal, the Lakers won 31 of their first 36 games. They finished 67–15, the highest win total since they won 65 in the 1986–87 season. The eliminated Sacramento and Phoenix in the first two rounds of the playoffs. After the Lakers took a three games to one lead in the Western Conference Finals against Portland, the Trail Blazers won the next two games to force a game seven. The Lakers, who trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter, would go on 19–4 run to tie the game and eventually win 89–84 to advance to the NBA Finals. In their first trip to the Finals since 1991, the Lakers defeated Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers four games to two win their first title since 1988. West retired from his spot in the team's front office after the season after a power struggle between him and Jackson over control of the team's operations. After the season, starters Rice and Green left the team, and Los Angeles signed Horace Grant.
  The following season, the Lakers won 11 fewer regular season games th
caption: The Lakers at the White House following their 2001 NBA championship
exif: {}