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Kobe and the Lakers finally got a championship ring without Shaq. The Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champions, having beat the Orlando Magic in 5 games 99-86. This is the 15th title for the franchise and the 4th for the Finals MVP Kobe Bryant.
“This means everything, we really worked hard as a group,” Kobe said after the game, finally putting the “can he win without Shaq?” question to rest. Bryant had 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks in the win.
With his tenth championship coach Phil Jackson has now passed the late Red Auerbach for the most titles of any NBA coach. “I’ll smoke a cigar in memory of Red,” Jackson said. “He was a great guy.”
