Recently, DimeMag.com did a poll and looked back at the last 13 years in the NBA to break down the best teams from one to 10 since 2000.
The Kobe Bryan and Shaquille O'Neal combination back in 2000-01 was so dominant that they lost only one game in the NBA playoffs against Allen Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers during the NBA Finals.
Before their series with the 76ers the Lakers squared off against some of the best teams in the Western Conference during that era. The Lakers swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs before reaching the Finals.
Iverson torched the Lakers at Staples Center in the first game of the Finals scoring 48 points. One moment that will forever be remembered from that game was the crossing up and stepping over Tyrone Lue in the final minute of play in the fourth quarter that basically ended the Lakers.
Game 1's lost practically awoken the sleeping giants that were Kobe and Shaq. The duo performed amazingly in the next four games to sweep the 76ers earning the team's second consecutive championship under Phil Jackson.
Few teams compared to the dominance of the '01 Lakers in the playoffs and that was enough to put that above other teams on the list. The Lakers also made the list for the squad that won the third consecutive title during the 2001-02 season and the Kobe and Pau Gasol combination in 2008-09.
Other notable teams that made the list are the 2004-05 Spurs, 2011-12 Miami Heat, 2007-08 Boston Celtics and 2003-04 Detroit Pistons. The Spurs, Celtics and Pistons all had to get past the Lakers to win a championship.
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