I’m sure there’s some more in depth and technical answer but honestly they just couldn’t stop Kobe with the attention Shaq was getting too

This Spurs team didn’t have Parker or Ginobli and it showed. Kobe gave them absolute hell while the Spurs guards weren’t able to have major impact on the game. Kobe himself averaged more points and apg than all of the Spurs guards combined.

The spurs staring guards also went 7-35 from 3 in the series.

Kobe ran roughshod over the Spurs’ perimeter players and did whatever he wanted. Arguably his peak performance during the 3peat. Helping out was the fact that Spurs just didn’t have the perimeter defenders to hang with him or perimeter scorers to make him work on D.

Derek Anderson played two ineffective games on an injured shoulder - it got separated due to a Juwon Howard foul the previous series, and he had no business playing. Perhaps he was pressured by the fact that it was his contract year.

Antonio Daniels was a career backup that had to start because he was the only one with any athleticism. But he was 3 inches shorter than Kobe and stood no chance.

Terry Porter was 37 and couldn’t move anymore. Ditto, Sean Elliot, who was never the same player after his kidney transplant.

Then there was freakin’ Derek Fisher. Every time the Spurs tried to come back he would hit a 3. 15-20 for the series! Obviously he famously killed the Spurs in 2004 with 0.4 but he bitch-slapped the Spurs all four games in this 2001 series.

And if there’s one criticism of Duncan’s Spurs, I can’t recall a game when they were down heading on the road and won that road game.

Kobe and Shaq did whatever they wanted in that playoff run. And that hurts the people of this sub on a very deep level so it doesn’t get talked about often.

It might be the most dominant run I’ve ever seen and that includes Bulls and Warriors.

I know statistically Knicks were very dominant this playoff, but I still felt like the spurs had a chance to win. In 2001, you knew there was no team that stood a chance, even after AI dropped 50 in game 1.

The Lakers were amazing and Derek Anderson was injured, not really more to it. Kobe had a great series and Duncan had a bad series as well 

You’re looking at the peak of the 2000s lakers vs one of the lower end versions of the 2000s Spurs.

The lakers were at the peak of their powers and the spurs weren’t yet.

The 2001 lakers are also pretty universally acknowledged to be like the third greatest team ever at the absolute worst.

I also wouldn’t get too caught up in the regular season record because that was really the prime era of Shaq playing himself into shape throughout the season

Frobe averaging 33/7/7 on over 50FG%

Kobe

To answer this question it would require talking positively about Kobe, which is pretty tough for this sub

The lakers had two top 10 players of all time in their prime

This was the best version of that 3 peat in my opinion. One of the best teams of all time. That’s why

The Spurs were starting a 37 year old Terry Porter, a 35 year old Danny Ferry, and Antonio Daniels for the first two games at home. When they went on the road they were able to bring in an injured Derek Anderson. And the Lakers had Kobe Bryant at his athletic peak (not his overall peak, that came later). The Spurs did a good job containing Shaq, better than basically anyone else could do at the time. But they had no hope with those guards and wings.

because Kobe is better than Tim Duncan.

They couldn’t stop Kobe

i mean 2001 shaq has an argument for the best basketball player ever and kobe was a near mvp level player as well

They lost 1 game against the Sixers in the entire playoff run (3-0 Portland, 4-0 Sacramento, 4-0 San Antonio and 4-1 Sixers).

It was prime Shaq/Kobe and no team was stopping them. None of the series they played were competitive.

Robinson couldn’t get anything done on either side of the ball against Shaq, they didn’t have anyone that could guard Kobe, and they were so busy with those two that they let Fisher shoot ¹⁵⁄₂₀ from deep.

Kobe always destroyed the Spurs. They never had the personnel in the 2000’s to match him. Its why the potential first round in 2013 was so intriguing to Laker fans before the Achilles. Now imagine being the Spurs. Going against the Lakers who feature your kryptonite. But that isn’t your biggest problem. Because prime Shaq is trying to murder David Robinson.

The spurs were too old to keep up with Kobe in full flight but then the Lakers in general & DFish in particular were hot from 3 (team shot 44%) & Fisher on fire (¹⁵⁄₂₀ in 4 games). The spurs had almost no outside shooting & started ancient Terry Porter & Avery Johnson at guard. They were outclassed at every position except PF.

The difference from the regular season was Fisher was injured and only played the final 20 games of the regular season (and none of the spurs games) and 37 y/o Ron Harper was starting & playing the majority of guard minutes next to Kobe until Harper got hurt and barely played in the playoffs. Fisher’s shooting & defense really unlocked that team, especially against the spurs as they went 23-2 in the last 25 games including the playoffs. Similarly, they gradually leaned into more minutes with Horry at power forward over Horace Grant… they basically split the PF minutes over the season.

At the same time Derek Anderson was flagrant fouled in the previous series and badly injured his shoulder. He only played I think 2 games in the Lakers series and was a non-factor, essentially leaving them only Antonio Daniels to guard Kobe. And Sean Elliott had really declined by the end of that season and retired after the series. Robinson also shot terribly.

But Fisher was the key… if you sent help on Shaq or Kobe he was raining jumpers and he was the head of the snake on defense.

It was a complete beat down…

*edit: typos

That 00-02 Lakers team was so dominant. Shaq was literally unguardable and Kobe was the best 2 guard. The only reason that run wasnt longer was Shaq not staying in shape/injuries and their personalities clashing to atipping point. 

I feel like people don’t realize how dominant Shaq was. It was the only period in NBA history where it felt like it’s you had a player you were an automatic contender 

Kobe was legit getting whatever he wanted. duncan and d rob could not guard that man & his afro

oh. then there’s shaq. but it is wild that spurs don’t get more slack for it which i guess is a given since they had 5 fucking rings but that 01 lakers squad was 2 stars, 2 decent guys in horry and fisher, and bums

The 01 lakers are one of the best playoff teams of all time.

Duncan was already at his peak but the 90s team that was built and ready for him really started looking old that year. They had some young guys but none that were really good. Hitting on Tony and then Manu was really important for that spurs team. Also kobe running Shaq out of town helped the spurs a ton there in the 2000s

Kobe and Shaq and especially Kobe that series played lights out

That San Antonio team was way too old, and their starting SG got injured. Robinson 35yo, Ferry 34yo, Terry Porter 37yo and Johnson was 35yo, where 4 of the 6 players with the most minutes. The only sub 30 players where Duncan and Antonio Daniels who was replacing Derek Anderson who was injured.

Those slow and old players where the ones that needed to help defend prime Shaq-Kobe Lakers. And not just those 2, Fisher, Fox and Horry where much younger than the other Spurs players. Horace Grant who would have been and old player against any other team, was average at 35yo lol.

The Spurs needed a refresh from their 99 ring, and that’s what they did their following 2 seasons getting Parker, Jackson, Ginobili and Bowen for 2003.

Makes Iversons game 1 performance even more impressive

The most simple and boring answer is that the Lakers just peaked. Yeah in other years they played more competitive series but in 2001 they just got on a roll and couldn’t be stopped. That’s the only explanation, teams go on big runs

Sometimes it comes down to something as simple as one team having one top 5 player, and another team having two top 5 players—including Shaq still in the midst of arguably the highest peak ever.

Shaq. Kobe. That’s the answer.

This was the pre-retool Spurs which, while still very strong, was ageing out.

Also Phil/Winter/Cleamons usually had a good plan against Pops.

Kobe

Horace Grant was amazing that playoffs

Faced a prime Rasheed

Prime CWebb

Prime Duncan

One of the best all time playoff teams hitting on all cylinders

The only game they lost was because of a historically good AI performance

Gotta remember Parker and Ginobli weren’t Spurs yet.

Look at the Spurs roster. It’ll tell you everything you need to know.

No Bruce Bowen, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobili yet

D Rob was not all star caliber at that point.

Because Parker, Ginobili and Bruce Bowen hadn’t shown up yet.

The Spurs guards were either injured in Derek Anderson or just not very good.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs in every category including assists. Not great.

When reading these comments, keep in mind Kobe was 22 in this series.

Spurs did not have good guard play. They added Parker the next year and the series was much closer.

Apart from the Spurs not being able to contain Kobe and Decide having the best series of his life, Lakers played a brand of basketball that absolutely suited them and was the worst kind of basketball that the Spurs could play. Team speed.

I remember Pop and Duncan going into the series saying they couldn’t let the game become about running because they’d lose. I remember the Lakers running everything fast in that series off makes, off rebounds and obviously off TOs. Problem was even in half court, they did not have the team speed to stop Kobe from penetrating the interior. And that’s in spite of them having 2 rim protectors on the court.

Add on to that and Daniels and Avery being the primary defenders on Kobe that series meant he was just shooting over them whenever he wanted to. That was just a bad matchup for the Spurs (matter of fact they were just a bad matchup for everyone that whole playoff run).

Kobe and Shaq were at their peak as a duo in this series.

Spurs but Duncan we’re all injured and Kobe played like mj while Duncan’s and shaq cancelled each other out (in all te other series Duncan just outplayed him)

Because that Spurs team was Tim Duncan, Antonio Daniels and a bunch of past their prime soon to be retired guys.

Because the lakers were just a better team. Stop looking at the names from a historical perspective and look who they are in that moment.

Like others have said, Derek Anderson missed 2 games and was limited in the other 2, he was a 15/4/4 player that season so that was a big blow, if they had him, they have 4 or 5 other players with 38-40% 3 point percentages and I think they would have had a shot. But they couldn’t stop Kobe at all who shredded them in the regular season, even with their twin towers Shaq was Shaq and our shooting was on point when we needed them from Fish/Fox/Horry. And Kobe/Shaq had to basically play 44+ minutes per game since we had a weak bench and no backup C. Kinda ironic you brought this up, I was just watching Game 1 of this series on YouTube, Kobe missed some FTs and some easy shots or he easily would have had 55+.

The Lakers went 15-1.

From memory, someone got injured for the Spurs,  a starting guard if I recall, and they had no to defend Kobe. The first game was very close and LAL played bad. It was a white wash after that. 

The only reason the Lakers were the 2 seed is because Derek Fisher was injured a large chunk of the year. When he returned, the Lakers were almost unbeatable. The Spurs were nowhere near as good as them that year, no one was.

La tightened up their defense in the post season basically everybody locked in and caught heat at the right time also the spurs just didn’t have any sparks Robinson had declined massively and this was before Manu and Tony were on the roster

Because Derek Anderson got injured against the Mavs. Not kidding.

Shaq and Kobe were stupidly locked in.

I’ve never seen a “Robin” average 33/7/7 in a conference finals
If conference MVPs were a thing back then, Kobe would have gotten about 4 or 5

Spurs were not in their final form that year. They were still a hell of a franchise but they reached a new level once they got rid of their vets and brought in a legitimate pg in TP and a solid bench rotation

That team was such a monster opponents looked like they didn’t even think they could win.

Shaq was playing in Tim Duncan’s ass the whole series

Prime Shaq was unstoppable 

Shaq was the best player in the league, Duncan was 2nd and Kobe was 3rd. Having two of the best players in the league at the same time was crucial.

Because despite what anyone tells you, Prime Shaq and Kobe daddy dicked the Spurs and it literally took this duo to self-implode (Shaq getting fatter adn Kobe getting more alphaish) for Spurs to have a chance.

Kobe Bryant

Shaq and Kobe

It doesn’t get mentioned enough, but Horace Grant took a huge load off Shaq by bodying up other bigs, collecting rebounds, and protecting the rim, so Shaq didn’t have to do everything down low by himself.

Horry and AC Green at the 4 were out of position and constantly outmuscled. Really the only Laker defensive weaknesses that threepeat, despite being great defenders themselves. Horry was better at the 3 and spot 4, while Green was a better 4 back in Showtime when players were a little thinner.

Ofc, Kobe truly came into his own that year and destroyed everything in sight.

The version of Kobe that everyone calls a sidekick but averaged 33/7/7 while making the right passes when doubled and then Shaq was still close to his all-time peak. Basically had the best two players in the league playing close to the best they ever played.

Shaq and Kobe were getting glazed by the NBA big time those years and some of those series were really shady…like vs the Kings and Trailblazers.

At the same time that crooked ref shit with Donaghy going on….yea. Not a good time for the league

Because the Spurs rolled over and fucking quit after halftime of game two. Ask them.

Tim gets no flack for it either. He and his team fucking quit. It was glorious.

2001 Shaq was god tier.

The Spurs were old on the perimeter while the Lakers young guards and wings did whatever they wanted especially Kobe. What made matters worse was that no one could stop that version of Shaq in the paint. You double Shaq he’s either going through the double and dunking on fools, or if he’s feeling charitable he’ll pass it to the open man. To summarize, t hey couldnt guard prime Kobe on the wings with old guys like Jaren Jackson and Terry Porter especially without an injured Derek Anderson. Duncan and Robinson were supposed to be great defenders but they had nothing for an absolutely dominant Shaq. 

The Sixers gave them their toughest fight in the playoffs because they had the personnel to at least defend Kobe (McKie, Bell, Snow, and Jones) not saying they shut him down but they did way better than the Spurs. The key factor was Shaq obliterating Deke and doing to him what he did to Duncan and Robinson. 

You can’t let the big fella catch it that deep in the paint. And they let the big fella catch it that deep in the paint.

The Duncant series

The blog boys always ignore Kobe’s record against Duncant in the playoffs whenever they rank the bronze medalist ahead of Kob’.

Isn’t Shaq the answer?

2001 still had illegal defense rules and they didn’t have Ben Wallace to embarass Shaq defending him 1v1

Spurs didn’t have Wemby 

Shaq got away with a ton of shit that year. He was fouling the fuck outta everyone, and getting away with other egregious shit like being across the FT line for shots

They just couldn’t say No to Kobe. It was really incredible they just couldn’t stop him. It’s like he didn’t know what it meant

spurs just choked another series away, nothing new