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NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000

By Luke Duffy

Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) /
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NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000
DALLAS, TX – MARCH 12: Kobe Bryant #24 and Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers react after a 96-91 win against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on March 12, 2011 in Dallas, Texas, NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000: 3. Los Angeles Lakers

It is getting interesting now, and we need to remember that the Los Angeles Lakers were pretty bad both towards the end of the late Kobe Bryant’s career and just after they traded for LeBron. This was the window that nearly allowed the Heat to steal the spot, but then you remember the three straight titles from 2000 – 2002, and you remember why they are here.

Much like the Heat, it says a lot that three championships for Kobe and Shaq together feels like one too few. Both massive personalities who saw the game, and life, in a different way, on reflection, it was always going to end in a split. Even though O’Neal got his fourth ring away from Los Angeles, as we know now, Bryant got the last laugh.

Three straight finals trips again to close out the decade, beating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Celtics in 2010, having lost to the Celtics in 2008. Pau Gasol was along for the ride then, another iconic player whose stature with the purple and gold only seems to grow stronger the further we get away from his fabulous career.

If that wasn’t enough, to win championships with a top 10 player in L.A., the Lakers then managed to persuade LeBron (we doubt he needed much persuasion) to leave Cleveland for a second time, and after he had secured a championship for his hometown team. This is the part that gets tricky, though, and may divide some opinions.

Yes, the Lakers won a championship in 2020 and traded for a superstar in Anthony Davis. But they also mismanaged a whole host of other players, letting valuable guys like Alex Caruso leave for nothing. Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball had to be moved to get Davis, but adding Russell Westbrook has been an unmitigated disaster. Others like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard (for a third time) also joined, making it feel like an NBA 2K roster built 10 years too late.