The Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of Pau Gasol in February 2008 not only made them championship contenders again, but it also set off something of a chain reaction across the NBA.
A number of other contenders made deals in the coming weeks, but the most eye-opening one came five days later when the Phoenix Suns traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal.
It seemed to mark a shift in offensive philosophy for them, but more importantly, it meant Kobe Bryant’s old frenemy was on the team that had knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs the previous two years.
On Feb. 20, the two squads met in Arizona for a much-hyped game. It also happened to be O’Neal’s debut in a Suns uniform.
The contest was a highly competitive and high-scoring contest, an example of NBA basketball just about at its best in the regular season.
O’Neal, who was 35 and a shell of who he had been as a Laker, had a solid 15 points and nine rebounds in nearly 29 minutes. But Bryant shined brightest with 41 points on 16-of-25 shooting, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots, while Gasol added 29 points.
After 48 minutes of up-tempo basketball, the Lakers came out on top, 130-124, and they had made a powerful statement to the rest of the league.
If anyone had doubted the Lakers were an elite team with the addition of Gasol, this was the evidence that those doubters were wrong.
