For all of their success, one of the enduring legacies of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s partnership is the fact that they led the last successful three-peat in North America’s four major professional sports leagues.
From 2000-02, the Los Angeles Lakers won three straight NBA titles, a level of success that the Chiefs tried to match this season but ultimately fell short, losing 40-22 to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. Kansas City joined eight other back-to-back Super Bowl champions that were unable to achieve a three-peat. The last team to do so is the 1965-67 Packers.
The early 2000s Lakers’ success came immediately after Michael Jordan’s Bulls dominated the NBA in the 90s, achieving two successful three-peats. Their last championship came four years after Jordan’s second three-peat and just two years after the Yankees’ third consecutive World Series title.
This string of championships possibly diluted the Lakers’ accomplishment, as questions quickly turned to how many more titles Kobe and Shaq would win in the years ahead.
Unfortunately, that answer was ultimately none. The Lakers’ last title came with a sweep of Jason Kidd’s Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals, and they made another NBA Finals in 2004 but were defeated by the Detroit Pistons. Shaq’s trade that offseason ended one of the most successful partnerships in sports.
The 2001 Lakers posted a playoff record of 15-1, with Allen Iverson’s Finals performance the only postseason loss. The Lakers then responded to their lone loss with four consecutive wins to protect their title. The following year, they easily bested the Trailblazers and Spurs in the early playoff rounds before overcoming the Kings in an epic seven-game series to return to the finals, where they overwhelmed the Nets.
In recent years, there has been more reflection on what Kobe and Shaq did not accomplish together as teammates compared to what they achieved. However, as time passes, they may still stand as the last duo to have captured three consecutive titles together, currently a span of 23 years.
