2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 54th season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 42nd season in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers entered the regular season as the 2-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the 2001 NBA Finals, winning their 13th NBA championship. During the off-season, the team signed free agents, All-Star guard Mitch Richmond and Samaki Walker, and acquired Lindsey Hunter from the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Lakers got off to a fast start by winning their first seven games of the regular season, leading to a successful 16–1 start after a nine-game winning streak between November and December, and holding a 33–13 record at the All-Star break. The Lakers finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 58–24 record, earned the third seed in the Western Conference, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.

Shaquille O'Neal averaged 27.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, while Kobe Bryant averaged 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Derek Fisher provided the team with 11.2 points per game, and also led them with 144 three-point field goals. In addition, Rick Fox contributed 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while Robert Horry provided with 6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, Walker averaged 6.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, Hunter contributed 5.8 points per game, and Richmond provided with 4.1 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, O'Neal and Bryant were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; although O'Neal did not participate due to an injury for the second year in a row. Bryant scored 31 points along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, despite being booed by the hometown crowd in Philadelphia, as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 135–120. Both Bryant and O'Neal were named to the All-NBA First Team, while Bryant was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team; O'Neal finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting with 15 first-place votes (696 points), and Bryant finished in fifth place in MVP voting with 1 first-place vote. Bryant also finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, the Lakers faced off against the 6th–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells and Damon Stoudamire. The Lakers won the first two games over the Trail Blazers at home at the Staples Center, before winning Game 3 on the road, 92–91 at the Rose Garden Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep. It was the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Lakers won an NBA playoff series over the Trail Blazers.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star forward, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Tim Duncan, All-Star center David Robinson, and rookie point guard Tony Parker. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, and the Spurs winning the Midwest Division title, the Lakers had home-court advantage in the series. The Lakers won Game 1 over the Spurs at the Staples Center, 86–80, but then lost Game 2 at home, 88–85 as the Spurs evened the series. The Lakers managed to win the next two games on the road at the Alamodome, before winning Game 5 over the Spurs at the Staples Center, 93–87 to win the series in five games.

In the Western Conference Finals, and also for the third consecutive year, the Lakers faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Sacramento Kings, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Chris Webber, All-Star forward Peja Stojaković, and Mike Bibby. However, the Kings started the series without Stojaković, who was out due to an ankle injury, in which he suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semi-finals against the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers won Game 1 over the Kings on the road, 106–99 at the ARCO Arena II, but then lost the next two games, before winning Game 4 over the Kings at home, 100–99 at the Staples Center to even the series. With Stojaković coming back from his ankle injury, the Kings defeated the Lakers in Game 5 at the ARCO Arena II, 92–91 to take a 3–2 series lead. However, the Lakers won Game 6 over the Kings at the Staples Center, 106–102, and then won Game 7 at the ARCO Arena II in overtime, 112–106 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series, and advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.

Game 6 of the Lakers-Kings series was one of the most controversial games in NBA history, due to the calls made by the referees, most of which were to the detriment of the Kings, and with the Lakers winning, 106–102 to even the series. Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on June 2, 2002, brought in a total of 23.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched Western Conference Finals game in NBA history.

In the 2002 NBA Finals, the Lakers faced off against the top–seeded New Jersey Nets, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Jason Kidd, second-year star Kenyon Martin, and Keith Van Horn. The Lakers won the first two games over the Nets at the Staples Center, and then won the next two games on the road, including a Game 4 win over the Nets at the Continental Airlines Arena, 113–107 to win the series in a four-game sweep; the Lakers won their third consecutive NBA championship for their second three-peat in franchise history, the first since 1952–54, as O'Neal was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the third straight year. This season marked the third and last of the Lakers' three-peat championships into the new millennium.

The Lakers finished eighth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 778,777 at the Staples Center during the regular season. Following the season, Richmond retired ending his fourteen-year career in the NBA, and Hunter was traded to the Toronto Raptors. The Lakers would not win another title until 2009, in which they defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. As of 2026, the 2001–02 Lakers are the most recent North American professional sports team to have accomplished a three-peat.