page_title: History of the Los Angeles Lakers
section_title: 1996–2004: O'Neal and Bryant dynasty
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Los Angeles Lakers / 1996–2016: The Kobe Bryant era / 1996–2004: O'Neal and Bryant dynasty
caption_attribution_description: Kobe Bryant and his follow through on his free throw.
context_page_description: The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association.
  Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, the Lakers hold the all-time records for wins, winning percentage, and NBA Finals appearances. They are second in NBA championships only to the Boston Celtics, winning 16 championships to the Celtics 17 NBA titles. Their team have included some of the game's greatest players, including George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Clyde Lovellette, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant.
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 and former Magic Center 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 draft to select Derek Fisher. During the 1996–97 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 1997 NBA Playoffs. 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. Despite a NBA-record 7-for-7 three-point shooting performance from Horry in game 2, the Lakers lost the next round four games to one to the Utah Jazz.
  In the following 1997–98 season, the Lakers were the only team without a player over the age of 30 and were joined by Rick Fox from the Boston Celtics. They started off with the best start in franchise history, 11–0. 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, and passing Seattle in the standings. O'Neal – although missing 20 games due to an abdominal injury – was dominant, finishing only second to Michael Jordan in scoring, and leading the league in field-goal percentage (.584). The Lakers defeated Portland three games to one in the first-round of the play-offs. The following round, Seattle took a one-game lead, with the Lakers responding with four straight wins, taking the series. They were swept again by the Jazz in the Conference Finals.
  During the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, All-Star guard Eddie Jones and center Elden Campbell were traded to the Charlotte Hornets to acquire Glen Rice. Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets, and the flamboyant Dennis Rodman joined the team, though he was cut after just 23 games. The team also acquired J. R. Reid, and B. J. Armstrong. 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 shortened season, which was fourth in the Western Conference. Los Angeles defeated Houston 3–1 in the first round of the playoffs, but were swept by San Antonio in the next round with game 4 being the last game ever played at the Great Western Forum.
  The 1999–2000 season brought upon four huge changes: a new home floor at Staples Center (which they share with the city rival Los Angeles Clippers), newer, more modern jerseys replacing the ones worn by the Lakers since the late 70's, a new coach in Phil Jackson, and a new system: the triangle offense. The new philosophy proved to be potent, as the Lakers started off strong, winning 31 of their first 36 games. They also were able to string together winning streaks of 16, 19, and 11 games, becoming only the third team in NBA history to have three double-digit streaks in one season.
  Despite topping the league with a 67–15 record in the regular season, the Lakers found themselves struggling in the playoffs, needing all five games to knock off the Sacramento Kings and coming back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Portland. The Indiana Pacers, coached by the Lakers' old nemesis, Larry Bird, proved to be slightly less of a problem, however, and in six games, the Lakers claimed their first NBA championship since 1988. Shaquille O'Neal picked up both MVP and Finals MVP awards in 2000. Having also shar
caption: Kobe Bryant won two Finals MVP trophies with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
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