1999–2000 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1999–2000 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 52nd season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 40th season in Los Angeles, California. It was also the Lakers' first season playing in their new arena, the Staples Center, becoming co-tenants with their crosstown rival, the Los Angeles Clippers.

During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Lakers forward A.C. Green from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed free agents Ron Harper, Brian Shaw and John Salley; Green won two championships with the Lakers in the 1980s, and Salley won three championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. More significantly, the Lakers hired former Bulls coach Phil Jackson as their new head coach; Jackson would go on to help the team win five NBA championships over the course of the next 12 years.

Under Jackson, and with the addition of Harper, Green and Shaw, the Lakers got off to an 8–4 start to the regular season. The team posted a seven-game winning streak between November and December afterwards, then posted a 16-game winning streak between December and January, and later on held a 37–11 record at the All-Star break. The Lakers posted a 19-game winning streak between February and March, and then posted an 11-game winning streak between March and April. The Lakers finished in first place in the Pacific Division with a league-best 67–15 record, earning the first seed in the Western Conference, and in the NBA playoffs for the 25th time in franchise history; the team's 67 wins were the most wins since the 1971–72 team won a franchise-record of 69 games. The Lakers also qualified for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.

Shaquille O'Neal averaged 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, and was almost unanimously named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year, and was also named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team; O'Neal received 120 out of 121 first-place votes from the media in MVP voting, as the only person who did not vote for him was CNN sports broadcaster Fred Hickman, who instead voted for Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers. In addition, Kobe Bryant averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Glen Rice finished third on the team in scoring averaging 15.9 points per game. Meanwhile, Harper provided the team with 7.0 points and 3.4 assists per game, Rick Fox contributed 6.5 points per game off the bench, and Derek Fisher provided with 6.3 points and 2.8 assists per game, but only shot .346 in field-goal percentage. On the defensive side, Robert Horry averaged 5.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game off the bench, and Green contributed 5.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, O'Neal and Bryant were both selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Jackson was selected to coach the Western Conference. O'Neal scored 22 points along with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, as he and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs both shared the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 137–126. Meanwhile, Fisher participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Lisa Leslie of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.

Bryant also finished in twelfth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while O'Neal finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat, and with Bryant finishing tied in fifth place; in addition, both O'Neal and Bryant also finished in Most Improved Player voting, finishing in tenth and tied in eleventh place respectively, and Jackson finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting behind Doc Rivers of the Orlando Magic, despite the Magic missing the playoffs with a 41–41 record. The Lakers had the best team defensive rating in the NBA.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Lakers faced off against the 8th–seeded Sacramento Kings, a team that featured All-Star forward Chris Webber, second-year star Jason Williams, and former Lakers center Vlade Divac. The Lakers won the first two games over the Kings at home at the Staples Center, before losing the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Kings at the ARCO Arena II, 101–88. With the series tied at 2–2, the Lakers won Game 5 over the Kings at the Staples Center, 113–86 to win in a hard-fought five-game series.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by Clifford Robinson, Penny Hardaway, and All-Star guard Jason Kidd; Hardaway was O'Neal's former teammate on the Orlando Magic. The Lakers won the first three games to take a 3–0 series lead, but then lost Game 4 to the Suns on the road, 117–98 at the America West Arena. The Lakers won Game 5 over the Suns at the Staples Center, 87–65 to win the series in five games.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers then faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen and Steve Smith. With the series tied at 1–1, the Lakers won the next two games over the Trail Blazers on the road, including a Game 4 win at the Rose Garden Arena, 103–91. However, the Trail Blazers managed to win the next two games, which included a Game 6 win over the Lakers at the Rose Garden Arena, 103–93 to even the series. The Lakers won Game 7 over the Trail Blazers at the Staples Center, 89–84 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series, and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1990–91 season.

In the 2000 NBA Finals, the Lakers faced off against the top–seeded Indiana Pacers, who were led by Most Improved Player of the Year, Jalen Rose, All-Star guard Reggie Miller, and All-Star forward Dale Davis. The Lakers won the first two games over the Pacers at the Staples Center, before losing Game 3 on the road, 100–91 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Lakers managed to win Game 4 on the road in overtime, 120–118, but then lost Game 5 to the Pacers at the Conseco Fieldhouse, 120–87. The Lakers won Game 6 over the Pacers at the Staples Center, 116–111 to win the series in six games, and earning the franchise its twelfth NBA championship, as O'Neal was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player; it was the first of the Lakers' three-peat championships to begin the millennium, and the franchise's first championship since 1988. The championship win was also Jackson's seventh championship as a head coach, and the first with a team besides the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 771,420 at the Staples Center during the regular season. Following the season, Rice and Travis Knight were both traded to the New York Knicks in a four-team trade, while Green signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, and Salley retired after making a comeback to the NBA.

For the season, the Lakers slightly changed their primary logo of a golden yellow basketball with black lines, changing the team's name "Lakers" from light purple to dark purple. The team also sported new uniforms adding side panels to their jerseys and shorts. The team's new primary logo would remain in use until 2017, while the new uniforms would last until 2004, where they slightly changed their jerseys by adding the secondary logo to their shorts.

Because of their dominant regular and postseason performance, as well as O'Neal and Bryant's individual achievements, this Los Angeles Lakers team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. A documentary miniseries, Birth of a Dynasty, based on this Lakers season, was released in late 2019.