HoopsHype.com Columns

Call them what you want, but they've won three in a row
by Jon Finkel / June 13, 2002

Shaq and Kobe sitting atop the League, w-i-n-n-i-n-g. First went Indy, then came Philly, now down the go the Nets like it ain't even silly.

I don't know how the rest of the rhyme goes, but this is what I have been hearing and reading in so many words from all sports media outlets the past couple of weeks, especially in Los Angeles. Everyone is acting like a bunch of grade schoolers who don't know what to make of the first 'couple'. Are they really a couple? Are they going out? Going steady? Are they girlfriend and boyfriend? What do we call them? - Of course, the questions being asked about the Lakers go like this: Are they the best team ever? Is Shaq the best? Is Kobe the best? Is Jackson the best coach? How many will they win? Are they all going to stay together? How many will Kobe get? If one ring's a championship, two's a repeat and three is a threepeat, what's four? Is four a dynasty? Is three? Is six? What do we call them? Are the Lakers a Dynasty?

Ahh, that's the big question. This is what everyone wants to know. Are the 1999 through 2002 Los Angeles Lakers a dynasty? Walk up to anyone within a sixty mile radius of LAX and the answer is 'yes'. Take a flight east to O'Hare Airport and the answer is 'no'. They'll tell you that 6 championships in eight years is a dynasty. Hop on another plane and keep going east to Logan Airport and they'll scoff at three world championships. They'll even scoff at 6 in eight years. I know, I used 'scoff' twice in a row and now three times in as many sentences, but it fits perfectly. What else would you do if someone was bragging that they got 3 of something three years in a row and you were sitting there with the knowledge that you got 8 of the same thing eight years in a row and 11 of them in 13 seasons? Of course, we're talking about rings. The ring's the thing - and you'd scoff.

So these are the two questions: Who is right? - and- Does calling something a dynasty make it so, or more to the point, is the word dynasty an arbitrary label OR is it an absolute classification based on some very real criteria? Well, let's examine what a dynasty is.

A dynasty, described in its most basic definition is a group that maintains power for several generations. So how long is a generation? In real life it's the average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of offspring. I'm guessing that's between 25 and 30 years. But this is 'sports life', not real life, and our generations have to be defined by a different set of standards. How about this?

A Sports Generation is the time it takes for a young fan to learn about a game, begin to follow their favorite players through their prime until the next young crop of athletes come in and the fan is now a young adult. Most of us only begin to become cognizant of rooting for 'our' team, 'our favorite players' and the game itself at about 8 years old. By the time we're 10, we have an identity with our team, a two year history with them (which is 1/5 of your life at that time) and we probably know the players and remember certain things that happened in past seasons. After ten, we begin to grow as a fan. We've started to actually play the game and we are beginning to understand how tough it is to play on a professional level. This growing continues through high school and until you turn 18. At 18 years old, it is likely that most of your favorite players from when you were 8 are beginning to fade and you are now picking your new favorite players not by who has the coolest name or dunks the best, but whose ability to help the team you appreciate most. 8 to 18. 10 years. Suffice to say that a Sports Generation is about ten years, which coincides nicely with the length of most players' prime years. There it is.

Also, a quick aside to keep things straight. Following the definition of a dynasty above, it would take a team to win consistently over several Sports Generations to fit the true definition. But since we're talking about sports dynasties and they involve the careers of athletes which usually only span one, maybe two Sports Generations, we can truncate the length of it and say that a sports dynasty is accomplished by winning championships in a majority of the years that make up one Sports Generation.

Now, the word 'dynasty' pertaining to sports is not an objective label. It is not an opinion. It is a classification based on a set of facts. And right now, the facts we have are that the Lakers have won 3 Championships in three years. No, this is not a dynasty. It is a perfect start to a dynasty, but if you go along with what I've gone through above (and you may not, especially if you're a Lakers fan), as of right now, the Lakers are not a dynasty. They are a potential dynasty. They are the most dominant team over the past three years. If it stopped today and they never won again, it would be a nice string of championships, maybe even an era, but not a dynasty. To answer who is right to the above question, the people in Chicago are, the people in Boston are, and the people in Los Angeles are not, for now, if they are talking about Shaq's Lakers and not Magic's.

All Shaq's Lakers have to do to become a dynasty is win at least two, but definitely three more championships. If things stay as they are, this seems possible. It doesn't look like any of the key players from the past three championship teams are going anywhere and none of them are what you would call 'in the twilight of their careers'. The average age of the five starters is 29, with Kobe being the youngest at 23 and Fox being the only starter born in the sixties at 33. The most important thing is that regardless of what stage their careers are in, they are all improving each year and they are adapting their games to whatever will help the team win. Also, no team or player can stop Shaq and even if out of nowhere a seven footer with skills that all one-up Shaq's skills showed up in the league next year, he wouldn't mature enough as a player to compete with Shaq until he was ready to retire.

If you look at the past teams that hold the distinction of being dynasties under our criteria, the only reason they were stopped was because the pivotal players to the winning teams got old. The Lakers have sort of found a loop hole in that rule because their two main stars are seven years apart in age, so it is possible that after Shaq retires, Kobe will continue to run the team as the veteran leader and superstar while he grooms younger players to fit in with the system and help him win more championships.

If the players are there, then all that is left is the coaching. Phil Jackson just tied Red Auerbach for 9 NBA titles as a coach. He is likely to stay on for at least two more championship runs, at which point Kobe will only be 25 and Shaq will be 32. There should still be room for three or four more years of the Shaq and Kobe Lakers to dominate before it is just the Kobe Lakers and Shaq is sitting next to Magic in the stands eating burgers and ballooning to a combined weight of over 600 pounds. It's true. An out of shape Shaq could easily hit three and a half bills and Magic has got to be well over 250 and even closer to 300. 600 pounds and at least 8 rings sounds like some water show at Sea World - watch Willy the walrus dive and pick up the rings from the bottom of the pool on his tusks - or not. It could just be Shaq and Magic sitting side by side in the Staples Center. But what will they be watching?

Most likely they'll be watching Kobe with a few young prospects driving through the playoffs with Byron Scott as head coach of the Lakers. Watch. Phil is not going to coach forever and Scott has said in so many words that coaching the Lakers would be his dream job. You all have heard Kobe say that Scott was basically his big brother during his rookie season and I think after the win last night, Kobe hugged Scott before he got to Fisher and Fox and Horry. Byron Scott won three championships with the Lakers and he was born and raised in Inglewood, California. Tell me that's not a perfect match.

So if the stars align, or at least Kobe and Shaq win a few more and then another star comes in to take Shaq's place and aligns with Kobe, the Lakers will be a dynasty. But for now, they've been the best the last three years and the future looks good for the next few. Maybe that’s an understatement, but as a Celtics fan, that’s all I’m willing to give them. I hope Shaq decides to make Kazaam 2 through 6 instead of trying to win championships 4 through whatever and the Lakers never win another game.

Jon Finkel is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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