The 2002 NBA Finals was the third consecutive year the Los Angeles Lakers made it to the end. While the Lakers did have a chance to make history to potentially three-peat as champions, their run to the Finals was marred in controversy. More specifically, due to multiple reasons, many believe that the Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings was rigged in the Purple and Gold’s favor. Shaquille O’Neal recently shared a reel on Instagram that shared his thoughts on the matter.
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Shaquille O’Neal went to Instagram to share a reel of his late former teammate, Kobe Bryant. In the video, Kobe is asked whether the 2002 Western Conference Finals were rigged or if it just seemed that way.
Bryant did not twist his answer when he was asked whether the 2002 Western Conference Finals were rigged or not. He brought up the name of Tim Donaghy, an official who had officiated during the Conference Finals and was put under investigation before being punished for game-fixing charges and allegations.
But there was another point that Bryant made regarding the Sacramento Kings. The Kings missed a big chunk of free throws in that game which seemed suspicious to him and felt that they had been in on it too.
Kobe Bryant kept it real with the hosts and said, “Well, what’s that official’s name? (Tim Donaghy) Well, he definitely had money on it. So, that’s a fact. So, from that standpoint? Yes. But from the Kings missing 20-something free throws in Game 7, unless you look at their bank accounts, I don’t know what to tell you.”
The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Kings was an intense battle. The series went to seven games as the Kings gave the Lakers a good run for their money. But looking at the numbers from the game, there may have been some discrepancy.
The Kings were 2-20 from the three-point line, shooting an insanely low three-point shooting percentage at 10%. And coming back to Bryant’s point of free throws, the Kings went just 16-30 from the charity stripe, which does seem suspicious. So, as outlandish as Kobe’s claim may seem, there may be more here than meets the eye.
Sacramento Kings legend Mike Bibby also spoke about the series
The 2002 Western Conference Finals could’ve had the Sacramento Kings’ name on it in the history books. But after what many consider being rigged, the Lakers went on to three-peat.
In 2023, former Kings guard Mike Bibby recalled how the atmosphere was during Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Having evened out the series, Bibby mentioned how it seemed as if it was over for the Lakers now.
“You could see the look on their faces that it was over. You know what I mean, and it’s good to see, like basketball players know when you see that look of defeat, they had the look of defeat, and you could tell. We s**t the bed in game 7, but it shouldn’t have gone to game 7.”
Bibby did go on to talk about Game 7 as well. He blamed it on himself and his team as they were the ones who were playing badly instead. Whether that series was rigged or not, we may never get an official confirmation but many players are convinced to this day that something was going on behind the scenes.
