20 Years Since the 2002 Kings/Lakers WCF

[AussieRules]

River in Egypt.

What’s that?

A quip from The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County author.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

[Pablo Escobar]

As far as I’m concerned, the Sacramento Kings are the 2002 NBA champions. It was an amazing series that is only soured by the Tim Donaghy scandal.

[LewisnotMiller]

Today marks twenty years since Game 1 of the 2002 WCF between the #1 seeded Sacramento Kings and the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. It has gone down as one of the greatest, most memorable, controversial, notorious, legendary playoff series of all time so I thought it was worth marking such an anniversary.

It is worth mentioning, because I think people forget sometimes, that the Kings went into the series down a man. Peja Stojakovic had injured his ankle in game 3 of the Kings' second round series vs the Mavs; he'd miss the first four games of the series before returning for the last three at well below 100%. He was their second highest scorer in the regular season(and, I believe, in the playoffs before he got hurt), and one does wonder if the series would've had a different outcome had he been healthy.

The Kings had actually won three more games than the Lakers, so they went into the series with home court advantage, which they promptly squandered. The battle-tested Lakers came into ARCO and, behind high-level performances from Shaq and Kobe, jumped out to a 14 point lead by the end of the first quarter and controlled it the rest of the way for a seven point win, 106-99, over a Kings team hampered by a 0-8 FG performance from Hedo Turkoglu(starting in Peja's place) and an inefficient 19 points on 21 shots from Mike Bibby, and stole home court advantage.

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The Kings responded by tying things up at home in Game 2. The game was neck-and-neck throughout the first half before the Kings jumped out to a nine point lead at the end of the third and held on for a six point win, 96-90.

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The series shifted to Staples for Game 3, and the Kings made a statement coming into the defending champs' building and taking a double digit victory to take home court advantage back, but it was not without its drama. The Kings jumped out to a 17 point lead at the end of the first quarter and were still ahead 12 at the half. The third quarter was very one-sided as the Kings clobbered the Lakers to the tune of a 23 point lead going into the fourth, and that lead only increased to 27 by the 9:21 mark of the fourth. From that point forward, the game was a near-choke job for the Kings as the Lakers made a furious rally, including a 19-4 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes. The Lakers got as close as 11 when it was 100-89 with 1:19 left, but there just wasn't enough time left to complete the comeback. The Kings held on for a 13 point win, 103-90, taking a 2-1 series lead.

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Home court advantage may have been stolen and stolen back in the first three games, but game 4 at Staples is where the real drama of the series starts. The Kings were looking for a 3-1 series lead over the defending champs, and those of us who remember this game remember how they led it for every single second except for the last one. It was 40-20 at the end of the first, 65-51 at the half, cut to 80-73 at the end of the third. The two teams sort of traded baskets for most of the quarter, and the Kings still held a 96-90 lead with under two minutes left. By the time there was 26.9 seconds left, the Kings lead had been cut to one, 98-97. Shaq, forever given crap for his FT woes, hit 4/4 from the line in the last four minutes of the game, the last two bringing the Lakers to 97. Vlade Divac than split a pair of FTs to make it 99-97(had he made both FTs, the game would've ended up in OT...this is a harbinger of a problem that would rear its ugly head later in the series), leaving the final possession to the Lakers.

You all know what happened. Kobe missed a jump shot, Shaq got the board and missed a layup, Divac tipped the ball away from all the Lakers around the basket, but inadvertently right into the hands of a wide-open Robert Horry at the top of the three point line. For anyone who was rooting against the Lakers - which it felt like was everyone outside of LA - it was like one of those movie scenes where someone is yelling 'no-o-o-o' in slow motion. Horry nailed one of the most memorable game-winners...ever, probably...giving the Lakers their only lead of the game and snatching the 3-1 lead out of the Kings' hands to tie the series.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

I have to mention the other shot everyone remembers(or should remember) from this game. Samaki Walker made a 34-foot heave at the buzzer ending the first half that added three points to the board for the Lakers, except the replay clearly showed that the ball did not leave his hands in time and the shot shouldn't have counted. A lot of people took notice of this. It was a blown call that, given the series was either going to be 3-1 or 2-2 at the end of the game, absolutely could've changed the outcome of the series.

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Anyway, the series returned to ARCO for Game 5. It was a back-and-forth affair all the way through. The Lakers led 33-27, at the end of the first. The Kings came back in the second and led 51-46 at the half. The Lakers finished the third ahead again, 74-73. Neither team led by more than five at any point in the fourth quarter.

Now, Lakers fans usually point to the end of this game when people bring up the following game.

Shaq fouled out with 3:22 remaining, the Lakers with a one point lead, 85-84.

With 29 seconds left, the Lakers leading 91-90, Kobe had a shot blocked by Divac, and the ball ended up in Bibby's hands. After getting it down the court and moving the ball around for a bit, Chris Webber lost control of the ball and it went out of bounds with 11.4 seconds remaining. The call was that it went off Horry's foot, but naysayers say that it went off Webber and it should've been Lakers ball.

So after a timeout, the Kings inbound the ball and Bibby hits a two pointer to put the Kings up 92-91 with 8.2 seconds remaining. Fisher took a fall on the play, and naysayers argue that Webber should've been called for either an illegal screen or a foul; others say Fisher flopped.

On the last possession of the game, Kobe missed his 16-foot attempt at a game winner; naysayers say that Bobby Jackson, who was guarding him, should've been called for a foul.

Even if you believe that the Lakers got screwed here, it evened out in the next game. Either way, the Kings took a 3-2 lead and had two chances in front of them to dethrone the two-time defending champs.

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Look, enough has been said and written about Game 6 at Staples over the years that I don't feel the need to get into it too much. It was a great, great game that went back and forth from buzzer to buzzer seemingly without ever being more than five or six points apart. It has also gone down as one of the worst officiated games of all time. It was slammed for years even before Tim Donaghy threw fuel on the fire.

The play that has stuck with me for twenty years that symbolizes this more than any other for me is when, with 11.8 seconds left and the Lakers up by one, 103-102, Kobe elbowed Bibby in the face while trying to catch an inbounds pass, didn't get called for it, and then went to the line when Doug Christie fouled him, sinking both shots to put the Lakers up three, 105-102. In a fairly officiated game, that's an offensive foul, Kings ball.

It is what it is.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

The thing is, even after Game 6, even after the Samaki Walker botched call in Game 4, the Kings still had Game 7 at home. And the cold hard truth is that they lost that game all by themselves, no help needed from the refs. The only stat that really matters is that they, as a team, missed fourteen free throws. You can't miss fourteen free throws in your own building in a game 7. You just can't. They hit just a few of those, they're in all likelihood the 2002 champions, all due respect to the 2002 Nets.

As someone who wanted the Lakers to lose, the end of that game was so hard to watch. The missed FTs were bad enough but watching Christie and Peja(on a bum ankle)'s poor shooting in the 4th and OT(including Christie bricking a crucial three that would've given the Kings the lead with 22 seconds left in OT) was just awful.

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And so the Shaq/Kobe Lakers went on to win their third straight title and take their place as one of the greatest teams of all time, and the 2002 Kings took their place on most peoples' lists of the greatest teams never to win a title.

We can argue forever about who should've won or who got screwed, but we can at least agree this was one of the GOAT playoff series.

OP, this was beautifully done. High value post.

[Plossum]

Great series but such a tough one for the kings. There were so many little things that went against them that if they had a little more luck they would’ve won the title.

I don’t think it was rigged but game six was just horribly called. It happens but this one I imagine still stings deeply for the kings as they never got close again after this series.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Great series but such a tough one for the kings. There were so many little things that went against them that if they had a little more luck they would’ve won the title.

I don’t think it was rigged but game six was just horribly called. It happens but this one I imagine still stings deeply for the kings as they never got close again after this series.

it must especially sting because the Kings are a type of team that rarely get a chance to be elite due to the small market they play in and mismanagement- very hard on the fans to know that the only real chance they had perhaps in their lifetimes was squandered by terrible officiating and poor free throw shooting on their own behalf in game 7

[Lala870]

These type of series happen EVERY year in literally every round of the playoffs but the NBA loves drawing attention to this series and the tim donaghy stuff to act like it was a bad apple incident.

I don't think OKC for example played in one series that was wasn't blatantly fixed. Somehow I always managed to catch an OKC playoff game in years past and the officiating has been mind numbingly one sided everytime. That goes all the way back to 2011 when they jobbed Denver out of that first round series after the nuggets were giving them that work

[Lala870]

Great series but such a tough one for the kings. There were so many little things that went against them that if they had a little more luck they would’ve won the title.

I don’t think it was rigged but game six was just horribly called. It happens but this one I imagine still stings deeply for the kings as they never got close again after this series.

it must especially sting because the Kings are a type of team that rarely get a chance to be elite due to the small market they play in and mismanagement- very hard on the fans to know that the only real chance they had perhaps in their lifetimes was squandered by terrible officiating and poor free throw shooting on their own behalf in game 7

Tin foil hat theory: But i really do think the Kings are ran intentionally bad (various reasons for this). Their social media department is baffling as well.

You cant tell me this BS was an "honest mistake":

Watch on YouTube

[metalinguss]

Brings back so many memories. I had just started becoming an NBA fan in 2001 and was always inclined to root against the powerhouse team. Seeing the Lakers dominate EVERYONE the year before made me instantly root against them in 2002 and I desperately wanted the Kings to beat them.

[socal74]

I’ll never forget that Game 6 for as long as I live. Anyone watching it knew the fix was in. 27 free throws for the Lakers in the 4th Qtr. TWENTY-SEVEN. It was unreal to watch in real time. An actual rigged NBA game. If only social media were around back then. It would’ve melted down.

I’ll never forget Bill Plaschke, a writer for the LA Times and avid Laker fan, reporting the day following the game on PTI and saying how disgusted he was watching that game in person, and that everyone in their press suite couldn’t believe what they were watching either. He said they all knew something was up in that 4th quarter and they all felt uncomfortable because something nefarious was taking place. He said, “it wasn’t right” what happened that day and that the Kings were the better team and they should’ve been playing in the NBA Finals that year. This was an avid lakers fan saying this on national television… just wild.

Tim Donaughey of course later admitted that this was one of the games they were told to fix. Not that we needed any confirmation. But it provided some closure to Kings fans who still weren’t over it. Lakers never would’ve 3-peated and history would’ve been a lot different.

BS its not any worse than the refs gifting the Magic 20 FT's to Lakers 0 in the 4th quarter of the 2009 Finals game 4 to bring them back. Good thing Lakers won that game. How about Leon Powe shooting more FT's than the entire Laker squad in 2008 Finals game 2? Or 2002 WCF game 5 where Vlade shot 10 FTA to SHAQ's1.SHaq 1 freaking FT attempt in game 5. See there all kind of games that ppl can point to that a team got shafted. The Kings don't deserve to win if they **** the bed in game 7 AT HOME.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Great series but such a tough one for the kings. There were so many little things that went against them that if they had a little more luck they would’ve won the title.

I don’t think it was rigged but game six was just horribly called. It happens but this one I imagine still stings deeply for the kings as they never got close again after this series.

it must especially sting because the Kings are a type of team that rarely get a chance to be elite due to the small market they play in and mismanagement- very hard on the fans to know that the only real chance they had perhaps in their lifetimes was squandered by terrible officiating and poor free throw shooting on their own behalf in game 7

Tin foil hat theory: But i really do think the Kings are ran intentionally bad (various reasons for this). Their social media department is baffling as well.

You cant tell me this BS was an "honest mistake":

Watch on YouTube

Not sure why you would want to make your team worse by knowingly drafting an inferior player. I know it is hindsight, but how could anybody think that Bagley would be better than Doncic?

[Lala870]

it must especially sting because the Kings are a type of team that rarely get a chance to be elite due to the small market they play in and mismanagement- very hard on the fans to know that the only real chance they had perhaps in their lifetimes was squandered by terrible officiating and poor free throw shooting on their own behalf in game 7

Tin foil hat theory: But i really do think the Kings are ran intentionally bad (various reasons for this). Their social media department is baffling as well.

You cant tell me this BS was an "honest mistake":

Watch on YouTube

Not sure why you would want to make your team worse by knowingly drafting an inferior player. I know it is hindsight, but how could anybody think that Bagley would be better than Doncic?

If you watch the video Divac got destroyed by the questions as to the methodology the kings were using to choose Bagley

The reasons for the kings sabotaging themselves are probably a bit too "tin foil" hat for realgm but if you really want to know I could oblige...maybe.

[HomoSapien]

As far as I’m concerned, the Sacramento Kings are the 2002 NBA champions. It was an amazing series that is only soured by the Tim Donaghy scandal.

I’m not sure what you think this is doing to me. I’m not in denial about who won the series, nor am I a Kings fan. I’m an NBA fan, and to date that is the worst officiated series I’ve ever seen and since then we’ve learned why it was. There’s nothing the NBA can truly do to rectify that travesty, but I wish they would acknowledge it and honor that Kings team in some way.

[Curmudgeon]

Is Donaghy still in jail? He should be.

[Potential_64]

The Kings didn't get "screwed". They choked multiple times. And I'm a Laker hater but the Kings choked. They had many opportunities to win but they lacked the Lakers star power. They had a team of many good players, but none of them were great. Look how Bibby ended up. Dude fell off the face of the earth. Look at Webber lmao. Divac has always been a choker.
In my view the most tainted series was 2006 finals when refs gave two free throws to Dwyane Wade in game 5 in the closing seconds. They went from down one to up one with like a second left replays showed D-Wade was clearly not fouled. And I was rooting for the Heat.

[Cyrusman122000]

That Robert 3 in game 4 along with Ray Allen’s 3 in game 6 of the 2013 finals are the only times in nba history I can think of a situation where if one shot misses another team wins the nba championship. If Horry misses 3 that there is no doubt in my mind the kings are the 2002 nba champions.

Not only that, but the kings never recovered after that. They had two more years of contention in 03 and 04, but honestly I never felt like they were going to win in either of those years. Especially 2004. cwebbs injury in 2003 was probably the nail in the coffin.

This honestly was probably my favorite series of all time.

[EArl]

Watch on YouTube

Great memories.
I was in middle school during this run. I still remember looking forward to getting home after school to watch the game.

[theforumblue]

Congrats Big Shot Bob on this day 20 years ago

[SNPA]

Congrats Big Shot Bob on this day 20 years ago

Can we get a ban button?

[Liam_Gallagher]

Game 6 was bad, but Sacramento has no excuse for losing game 1 and 7 at home.

[Pelon chingon]

Game 6 was bad, but Sacramento has no excuse for losing game 1 and 7 at home.

There was no excuse for a game 7 period. It was a fruad. The series was rigged.