The Los Angeles Lakers were the best team in the league at the beginning of the 2000s. Still, the last team to three-peat the NBA titles, the Lakers, was almost unbeatable at the time. However, during the 2002 championship run, they faced stiff competition from the Sacramento Kings but eventually won the Western Conference Finals in seven games. Mike Bibby‘s misery didn’t end after the loss as he was pulled to the side for a dual interview alongside the late, great Kobe Bryant.
Advertisement
Bibby recently recalled the experience of being interviewed after a loss, on the ‘Forgotten Seasons‘ podcast. The NBA veteran said that initially, he could not even wrap his head around the logic behind the interview. He said,
“Can you believe that sh*t? I think that is the only time it’s ever happened. Man, you saw on my face, I’m like what the hell y’all got me up here for?”
Bibby’s Kings lost 106-112 in overtime and even though he put up an incredible game seven performance with 29 points, the Lakers clinched the series 4-3.
Understandably, Bibby was furious as he was being interviewed alongside the man who just beat him. But, since he couldn’t just walk off the court after that, he was looking for the right opportunity to go as far away from the camera as possible.
Bibby said that Jim Gray grabbed him while he was trying to go off the court, and then to his surprise, he also pulled Kobe in and started asking them questions about each other. Even though dual interviews are pretty regular, the setup that Bibby was caught in was surely something we don’t get to see very often.
Mike Bibby believes his team was the best in 2002
Although the 2002 season ended up being a disappointment for Bibby and the Kings, the 45-year-old still believes they were the best team at the time. During an appearance on the ‘Point God podcast‘ in 2022, he said,
“I knew we were the best team in the league that year. Playing against them [Lakers] and you can go look at all the films…You can see it on their face, they knew that it was about to come to an end.”
The 2002 WCF is remembered for many reasons apart from the seven-game battle between the Lakers and the Kings. Betting allegations were made and players have repeatedly said that the series was rigged for the Kings. Bibby also touched on the topic, during his conversation, but didn’t discuss anything in detail. However, he acknowledged that his team fumbled the bag in game seven, and made all the difference.
