2000–01 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 2000–01 NBA season was the Lakers' 53rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 41st in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals in six games, winning their twelfth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Lakers acquired Horace Grant from the Seattle SuperSonics. Grant won three championships with the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s. The team also signed free agent Isaiah Rider, who was released by the Atlanta Hawks during the previous season due to off the court troubles, and signed Greg Foster, who had two NBA Finals appearances with the Utah Jazz.

Derek Fisher only played just 20 games due to a stress fracture in his right foot, which forced him to miss the first 62 games of the regular season, as the Lakers held a 31–16 record at the All-Star break, and won their final eight games, finishing the regular season with a 56–26 record, and won the Pacific Division over the rival Sacramento Kings by one game. The Lakers clinched the #2 seed in the playoffs.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were both selected for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., but O'Neal did not play due to a foot injury. O’Neal averaged 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while Bryant averaged 28.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Fisher provided the team with 11.5 points, 4.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while Rick Fox contributed 9.6 points per game, and Grant provided with 8.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Rider contributed 7.6 points per game off the bench, while Ron Harper averaged 6.5 points per game, but only played just 47 games due to knee injuries, Brian Shaw contributed 5.3 points per game, and Robert Horry provided with 5.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Both O'Neal and Bryant were also selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, as O'Neal finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting with 7 first-place votes, while Bryant finished in ninth place.

In the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Portland Trail Blazers in three straight games in the Western Conference First Round, swept the 3rd-seeded Kings in four straight games in the Western Conference Semi-finals, then swept the top–seeded San Antonio Spurs also in four straight games in the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers went on to win the NBA Finals, 4–1 against regular season MVP Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, earning the franchise its 13th NBA championship. O'Neal was named Finals MVP for the second straight year. It was the second of the Lakers' three-peat championships to begin the millennium. The Lakers would finish with the then-best postseason record in NBA history, posting a 15–1 record, suffering their only loss in a Game 1 overtime home loss to the 76ers in the NBA Finals, 107–101. That record would last for 16 years until the Golden State Warriors went 16–1 in the 2017 playoffs.

Following the season, Grant re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Orlando Magic, while Rider signed with the Denver Nuggets, Tyronn Lue signed with the Washington Wizards, Foster was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, and Harper retired.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Pre-season

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA Finals

By winning the Finals MVP award, Shaquille O'Neal joined the list of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to win the award at least twice. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard have since joined the list. Jordan, Olajuwon, O'Neal, Bryant, James, and Durant are the only six to win the award in back-to-back years.
The Lakers at the time had achieved the best ever NBA postseason record of 15–1, sweeping the Western Conference and then sweeping the 76ers after their Game 1 loss in the Finals. On June 12, 2017, the Golden State Warriors had surpassed this feat, as they would go 16–1, after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals. The Lakers' postseason record was made before the first round of playoffs was extended to be the best-of-7 format which was implemented in the 2003 NBA Playoffs.
This Laker team still holds the title of best road record in a single postseason, at 8–0.