{"id":33820,"date":"2020-09-28T14:20:13","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T18:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=33820"},"modified":"2020-09-28T14:24:06","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T18:24:06","slug":"nba-finals-lakers-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/28\/nba-finals-lakers-return\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 Return Offers Memories of 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

In just his second season in purple and gold, LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> has carried the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> to its first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. One step closer to the promised land of an NBA Championship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers won the title in 2010, with a seven-game series win over the Boston Celtics<\/a>. Well, it\u2019s safe to say a lot has happened in the last decade of basketball. It\u2019s been a <\/span>decade of dominance<\/span><\/a> for James, who prepares to face his former squad Miami Heat<\/a> in this year\u2019s upcoming finals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The last time we saw the Lakers in the NBA Finals, James hadn\u2019t made his decision to head to Miami, he hadn\u2019t yet made his 10 finals appearances, and this league was very much Kobe Bryant<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s, not his. Let\u2019s reminisce about what the NBA looked like in 2010 because the NBA landscape has seen a complete transformation just 10 years later.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Lakers Return to NBA Finals; First Time Since 2010\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

2010 Finals: Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers own the League\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Rewind the clock back to June 16, 2010. As the purple and gold confetti fell down from the rafters in Staples Center, Bryant lifted up his fifth Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy of the decade. It was the icing on the cake. The league was symbolically owned by Bryant and the Lakers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The late-Bryant took home his second-straight NBA Finals MVP and NBA championship that season. He was an All-Star every year during the 2000\u2019s decade. He won the All-Star Game MVP three times in that decade. All en route to five championships in seven appearances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bryant also won the last two championships without his former superstar teammate Shaquille O’Neal<\/a><\/strong>. As basketball fans will remember, these last two championships sans Shaq cemented an all-time legacy for Bryant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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"The bowtie to an unbelievable, undeniable career.\u201d@Jpdabrams<\/a> revisits the Lakers' last championship run in 2010 with Kobe<\/p>\n

(via @NBAonTNT<\/a>)pic.twitter.com\/1CvHtw12py<\/a><\/p>\n

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n