It was ugly. Honestly, if you go back and watch the tape of Game 7, it wasn't some offensive masterpiece or a clinic in shooting. It was a 48-minute fistfight in a parking lot. By the time the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned nba finals winners 2010, the rim at Staples Center probably needed a therapy session. The Lakers shot 32.5% from the field. Kobe Bryant, arguably the greatest scorer of his generation, went 6-for-24.
Think about that.
In the biggest game of his life—the one that would either give him more rings than Shaquille O'Neal or leave him forever in the shadow of the 2008 collapse—Kobe couldn't buy a bucket. Yet, Los Angeles hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy.
The 2010 Finals didn't just happen; they felt like the end of an era. It was the last time we saw that specific brand of grit-and-grind, superstar-heavy, defense-first basketball before LeBron James took his talents to South Beach and changed the league's DNA forever. It was personal. It was the Lakers and the Celtics.
The Ghost of 2008 and the Redemption Arc
You can't talk about the Lakers as the nba finals winners 2010 without talking about the absolute shellacking they took two years prior. In 2008, the Celtics didn't just beat the Lakers; they embarrassed them. That 39-point blowout in Game 6 was a stain on Kobe's legacy and Phil Jackson's resume.
Entering the 2009-2010 season, the Lakers were the defending champs, sure. They'd beaten Orlando in '09. But everyone knew the real test was Boston. The Celtics were aging, but they were mean. Kevin Garnett was back from the knee injury that cost him the 2009 playoffs. Paul Pierce was still "The Truth," and Ray Allen was still the most dangerous shooter on the planet.
The regular season was a grind. The Lakers finished 57-25, snagging the top seed in the West. But they didn't look invincible. They had these weird stretches where they looked bored. Kobe was dealing with an avulsion fracture in his right index finger—basically, his shooting finger was a mess—and a bum knee that required periodic draining.
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Breaking Down the Seven-Game War
The series started with a Lakers statement. Kobe dropped 30. Pau Gasol looked like the best big man in the world. Lakers win. Then, Ray Allen happened. In Game 2, Ray hit eight three-pointers—a record at the time—and Boston stole home-court advantage.
That’s how the whole series went. Back and forth. Punch and counter-punch.
- Game 3: Derek Fisher saves the Lakers. People forget how clutch Fisher was. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a wild "and-one" layup against three Celtics defenders.
- Game 4 & 5: The Celtics bench, led by "Big Baby" Glen Davis and Nate Robinson, brings the energy. Boston takes a 3-2 lead. The Lakers are on the brink of another humiliating loss to their rivals.
- Game 6: Kendrick Perkins goes down. This is the "What If" that still keeps Bostonians up at night. Perkins tore his ACL and PCL early in Game 6. The Lakers cruised to a win to force Game 7, but the Celtics lost their interior muscle.
The Game 7 That Defied Logic
If you love beautiful, flowing basketball, Game 7 was a nightmare. If you love drama, it was the Super Bowl.
The Lakers trailed for most of the game. They looked tight. Kobe was pressing, trying to win the game by himself and failing miserably. But here is the thing about those Lakers: they had Pau Gasol. While everyone talks about Kobe’s fifth ring, Pau was the actual MVP of Game 7. He had 19 points and 18 rebounds. Nine of those were offensive boards.
The Lakers out-rebounded Boston 52-40. That was the game. Without Perkins, the Celtics couldn't stop the Lakers from getting second and third chances. Ron Artest—now Metta Sandiford-Artest—was the wildcard. He hit a massive three-pointer late in the fourth quarter that felt like a dagger. When the buzzer sounded and the Lakers were officially the nba finals winners 2010, the score was a meager 83-79.
It was the lowest-scoring Game 7 in the shot-clock era since 1955.
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Why This Title Defined Kobe’s Legacy
Kobe Bryant once said this was his favorite championship. Why? Because it was the hardest. It was against the Celtics. It was the one that gave him five, moving him past Shaq.
Critics love to point at the 6-for-24 shooting night. They use it as a weapon against his "efficiency." But real ones know he grabbed 15 rebounds that night. He played lockdown defense. He found a way to win when his primary weapon—his jumper—betrayed him. That’s what being an nba finals winners 2010 member was about. It wasn't about the box score; it was about outlasting the other guy.
The Missing Piece: Kendrick Perkins
We have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. If Kendrick Perkins doesn't blow out his knee, do the Lakers win?
Doc Rivers has famously said that the Celtics' starting five never lost a playoff series when they were all healthy. It’s a bold claim, but there’s some truth to it. Rasheed Wallace played admirably in Perkins' absence in Game 7, but he ran out of gas. By the fourth quarter, "Sheed" was gapped. The Lakers feasted on the glass because the Celtics didn't have their enforcer.
Of course, injuries are part of the game. The Lakers had plenty of their own. Andrew Bynum was basically playing on one leg, getting his knee drained between games just to give the Lakers 15-20 minutes of size.
Economic and Cultural Impact
The 2010 Finals were a ratings gold mine. Game 7 drew an average of 28.2 million viewers. To put that in perspective, recent NBA Finals games struggle to hit half that. It was the peak of the "LeBron-less" NBA era, a final showdown between two of the most storied franchises in sports.
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For the Lakers, it solidified their dominance of the 2000s. They went to three straight Finals (2008, 2009, 2010) and won two. It was Phil Jackson’s 11th and final coaching title.
Practical Takeaways for Basketball Students
If you’re a coach or a player looking back at the nba finals winners 2010, there are genuine lessons here that apply to the modern game, even though the style has changed.
- Rebounding Wins Titles: When your shots aren't falling, you must control the glass. The Lakers won Game 7 because they gave themselves 23 extra possessions via offensive rebounds.
- Defense Travel: The Celtics almost won a title on the road because their defensive rotations were perfect. They held the Lakers to terrible shooting percentages for the entire series.
- Role Player Variance: You need a "Ron Artest game." You need a "Derek Fisher quarter." Stars get you to the Finals; role players win you the trophy.
What to Do Next
If you want to truly understand why this series mattered, don't just look at the highlights. Watch a full replay of Game 7. Notice the spacing—or lack thereof. Look at how physical the post-play was compared to today's game.
- Check the stats: Look up the rebounding totals for that series. It tells the whole story.
- Watch the post-game: Watch Kobe’s press conference. His relief is palpable. It’s the most "human" he ever looked on a basketball court.
- Compare eras: Contrast the 2010 Finals with the 2024 or 2025 Finals. The shift from post-up dominance to three-point volume is staggering.
The Lakers being the nba finals winners 2010 was the closing of a chapter in NBA history. It was the last time the "Old Guard" truly ruled the league before the "Player Empowerment" era took full control. Whether you're a Laker fan or a Celtic hater, you have to respect the sheer will it took to win that series. It was ugly, it was grueling, and it was perfect.
Next Steps:
- Research the 2010 NBA Draft to see how the league began its transition toward the "Small Ball" era immediately following this series.
- Analyze the defensive schemes of Tom Thibodeau (Celtics associate head coach at the time) which became the blueprint for NBA defenses for the next decade.
- Compare the "Usage Rate" of Kobe Bryant in the 2010 Finals to modern stars like Luka Dončić to see how the offensive load has shifted.