Okay so this morning I was folding laundry, right? Had ESPN on in the background. They started yakking about old NBA dynasties, and bang! The question just popped into my dumb head: Who actually started for the Lakers back when they won it all in 2000? I mean, everyone remembers Shaq and Kobe, obviously. But the other three? Blank. Total blank. Felt kinda stupid, honestly. That was my team back in the day!
Figured I’d just bang it into Google quick, but then I thought, nah, let’s do this properly. Felt like digging up an old photo album, you know? Didn’t trust my dusty memory. Grabbed my ancient laptop from 2012 – the keyboard’s sticky, don’t judge – fired it up. Thing sounds like a jet engine taking off.
First stop was the NBA’s own stuff. But their site’s all flashy and new now, finding ancient history feels like navigating a maze. Tried searching “Lakers 2000 roster” but got flooded with current news and Kobe tributes. Kept scrolling down, down, down… like digging for buried treasure. Finally stumbled onto a page listing champions by year. Bingo! Clicked 2000.
Alright, names started loading. Obviously saw the big ones:
- Shaquille O’Neal – Center. Absolute monster. How could you forget?
- Kobe Bryant – Shooting Guard. Young, explosive superstar in the making.
But the others? Needed to confirm the starters, not just the roster. That NBA page listed key players but wasn’t super clear on opening night five. So I started racking my brain harder. Remembered watching those finals. Tall point guard… kinda smooth? Searched my memory bank. Oh yeah! Ron Harper. Veteran dude, played with MJ in Chicago. Had to be him running point. Got my sticky-key laptop chugging again, double-checked on Basketball Reference. Yep! Found him listed for the 99-00 season. Point Guard spot filled.
Small Forward… that was tougher. I kept picturing this scrappy white guy who hustled. Name was on the tip of my tongue! Brian Shaw? Nah, he came off the bench pretty sure. Grrr. Scrolled through the other names on Basketball Reference again. Rick Fox! Rick Fox! That was the dude! Decent shooter, solid defender. Didn’t wow you like Kobe, but did the dirty work. Confirmed it – starting SF.
Now, Power Forward. Another head-scratcher. For a split second I thought “Rodman?” but nah, that was way before 2000. Was it Robert Horry? Big Shot Rob? My brain was misfiring. Pulled up the box scores for the Finals. Game 1 against Indiana. Scanned the starters… Boom. A.C. Green. Of course! Ironman A.C. Green! Tough as nails rebounder. Dude started most of that regular season and the finals. Totally forgot he made it back to LA for that run.
So there it was, pieced together like a stubborn jigsaw puzzle sitting on a table for months:
- Point Guard: Ron Harper
- Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant
- Small Forward: Rick Fox
- Power Forward: A.C. Green
- Center: Shaquille O’Neal
Felt pretty good closing that gap in my own memory. Funny how you remember Kobe dropping 40 or Shaq dunking everything, but forget the glue guys like Fox and Harper making it all work. A.C. Green bringing that veteran toughness underneath. Shows you even a powerhouse team like that wasn’t just two superstars. Took those five starters to kick off that three-peat dynasty. Needed that little trip down memory lane today!