1999-2000 NBA Finals
June 7, 2000 – June 19, 2000
1999-2000 NBA Finals result: LALLos Angeles Lakers def. IPIndiana Pacers, 4-2, June 7, 2000 – June 19, 2000.
Result
| Team | Series | |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | LALLos Angeles Lakers | 4-2 |
| Runner-up | IPIndiana Pacers |
Games
| Game | Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 7, 2000 | LALLos Angeles Lakers 104–87 Indiana Pacers | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |
| Game 2 | June 9, 2000 | LALLos Angeles Lakers 111–104 Indiana Pacers | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |
| Game 3 | June 11, 2000 | IPIndiana Pacers 100–91 Los Angeles Lakers | Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Game 4 | June 14, 2000 | LALLos Angeles Lakers 120–118 Indiana Pacers | Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Game 5 | June 16, 2000 | IPIndiana Pacers 120–87 Los Angeles Lakers | Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Game 6 | June 19, 2000 | LALLos Angeles Lakers 116–111 Indiana Pacers | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |
Finals MVP
Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal won the first of three consecutive Finals MVP awards, averaging 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game in the series.
Series context
The 1999-2000 season marked the beginning of the Los Angeles Lakers' dynasty under head coach Phil Jackson, who had joined the team after his run with the Chicago Bulls and installed the triangle offense around the pairing of Shaquille O'Neal, who won regular-season MVP that year, and a rapidly ascending young star in Kobe Bryant. The Lakers finished 67-15, the fifth-best regular-season record in NBA history at the time, and won the championship in the team's first season playing at the newly opened Staples Center, ending a 12-year title drought for the franchise dating back to 1988. Their opponent, the Indiana Pacers, reached their first NBA Finals in franchise history behind veteran sharpshooter Reggie Miller and a deep roster under coach Larry Bird, finishing 56-26, the best record in the Eastern Conference. The series began in Los Angeles, where O'Neal was nearly unstoppable, posting 43 points and 19 rebounds in a 104-87 Game 1 win. In Game 2, O'Neal again dominated with 40 points and 24 rebounds despite attempting an NBA-record 39 free throws as Indiana employed the 'Hack-a-Shaq' strategy; the Lakers won 111-104, though Kobe Bryant suffered an ankle injury late in the game. With Bryant sidelined, Indiana capitalized to win Game 3, 100-91, in Indianapolis. Bryant returned for Game 4 and delivered a string of clutch plays in overtime after O'Neal fouled out, sealing a crucial 120-118 Lakers win. Indiana avoided elimination with a dominant 120-87 win in Game 5, their largest margin of victory in Finals history, sending the series back to Los Angeles. The Lakers closed out the championship in Game 6, winning 116-111, giving the franchise its first title of the O'Neal-Bryant era and launching what would become a three-peat running through the 2002 season. Game 5 in Indianapolis was also notable as Larry Bird's final game as an NBA head coach, a fitting Pacers win in his last home game on the bench before he stepped away from coaching. Miller, who had willed Indiana to the win with a barrage of three-pointers to open that game, had also come agonizingly close to forcing overtime in Game 4, missing a potential game-tying three-pointer late in regulation that would have shifted the series' momentum. O'Neal's Finals performance is remembered as one of the most dominant in league history: he averaged 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game across the six games, capped by his 39 free-throw attempts in Game 2 alone, an NBA Finals record born of Indiana's Hack-a-Shaq strategy, of which he made 18, including 9 of 16 in the fourth quarter to help preserve the win. The title was the first for the Lakers in the Staples Center era and set the stage for the back-to-back championships that followed.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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