The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers came into their title defense this season with high hopes as repeating as NBA champs. Not only was their championship team relatively intact this season with the exception of Trevor Ariza who signed with the Houston Rockets in the offseason, the Lakers were thought to have a legitimate shot of winning their second straight NBA title.

Even though they would be without a key piece the championship puzzle in Ariza, the Lakers made a bold move in the offseason to sign arguably one of the best defenders in the league in Ron Artest. Despite being a head case in public opinion, Artest’s skills and determination on the defensive end of the floor is undeniable as he would be a major upgrade of the Lakers on the defense with his physical play and ability to guard the best offensive play on the opposing team.

It was somewhat of a rocky start for the Los Angeles Lakers to start this NBA regular season as they struggled with some injuries and team chemistry, but once this team got going, there seemed to be no stopping them as they started to dominate on both sides of the floor and become arguably the best all around team in the league once again.

Despite dominating their Western Conference opponents throughout the majority of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t getting as much recognition as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Even though many people believed that the Cleveland Cavaliers were the true best all around team in the league, the Cavs failed to come through in the playoffs once again as they were knocked out by the defensive minded Boston Celtics in the second round and sent home with their tail between their legs and a lot of questions surrounding the future of LeBron James in Cleveland.

With the Cavs officially knocked out of the playoffs, all the attention turned to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics as these two archrivals seemed destined to meet in the NBA Finals once again. Despite being the underdogs once again against the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, Rajon Rondo and company dominated Dwight Howard’s squad and cruised to the NBA Finals to face off against the defending champs.

Obviously, this NBA Finals got a lot of attention for the heated rivalry and possible redemption for the Lakers who lost in convincing fashion to the Celtics back in 2008, but was also getting some much needed recognition was the emergence of Kobe Bryant as arguably the best player in the league once again.

Not only did Kobe Bryant make everyone forget about LeBron James throughout these playoffs, but he proved his worth the team in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics with some memorable performances which ultimately gave him his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award for his efforts.

Along with Kobe Bryant, the Lakers role players finally stepped up at the right time alongside the Black Mamba as Pau Gasol, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom played a big part of the Los Angeles Lakers second straight NBA title.

The Boston Celtics put up a valiant effort in these NBA Finals as they played with a never say die attitude and forced the defending champs to an epic game seven, but in the end, Phil Jackson and company were just too much as they overcame a 13 point deficit and were able to win yet another NBA title!