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).

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.

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.