who did kobe bryant beat in the finals
Boston Celtics
title: Kobe Bryant text: Payton, and Bryant, the Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals. However, they were upset in five games by the Detroit Pistons, who won their first championship since 1990. In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.4 assists. He shot 35.1% from the field. Jackson's contract as coach was not renewed, and Rudy Tomjanovich took over. O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant. The following day, Bryant declined an offer to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and re-signed a seven-year contract with the Lakers. Bryant was closely title: Kobe Bryant text: All-Star Game co-MVP with former teammate O'Neal. The Lakers finished the regular season with the best record in the west (65–17). Bryant was runner-up in the MVP voting behind LeBron James, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career. In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz in five games and the Houston Rockets in seven games in the opening two rounds. After finishing off the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals in six games, the Lakers earned their second straight trip to the NBA Finals where they title: Kobe Bryant text: All-NBA Defensive team again, he was also promoted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. The Lakers won 58 games that year and finished second place in the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings. Bryant was suspended one game after he punched Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers after the Lakers' March 1, 2002 victory over the Pacers. The road to the Finals would prove a lot tougher than the record run the Lakers had the previous year. While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1 in the first two rounds title: 2010 NBA Playoffs text: 2010 NBA Playoffs The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2009-10 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant was named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year. For the 2nd time in 3 seasons and the first time since 2008, all Western Conference playoff teams had at least 50 wins. The 7 games separating 1–8 was tied for the smallest margin, also from 2008. Cleveland's 61 wins in the NBA was title: 2010 NBA Finals text: toughest series by far. Furthermore, Lakers forward Luke Walton and his father Hall of Famer Bill Walton became the only (as of 2011) father and son to both have won multiple NBA championships Bill in and and Luke in and 2010. Lastly, this would become Kobe Bryant’s final championship. , this remains the last NBA Finals appearance for either the Celtics or the Lakers. The next Boston vs. Los Angeles championship matchup would be in 2018 when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series 4 games to 1. The series win brought the