The 2006 Los Angeles Lakers were in rebuilding mode. After an epic run from 2000-04 where the franchise made four NBA Finals and won three championships, Shaquille O’Neal left for Miami and Phil Jackson retired. In 2005, the Lakers made the playoffs. It was enough to get Phil out of retirement. With Kobe Bryant still […]
Sacramento had been gradually declining since effectively being robbed of the NBA title in 2002. The Kings lost in the second of the playoffs in both 2003 and 2004, and then made a first-round exit in 2005. The 2006 Sacramento Kings continued the pattern—another first-round loss ended a period of success that went back to […]
Memphis made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2004. In ’04, and then again in 2005, the Grizzlies lost in the first round of what was then a ruthlessly deep and competitive Western Conference. The 2006 Memphis Grizzlies were hoping to take the next step, and they improved on their regular […]
The Nets had been in decline since Jason Kidd led them to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. They lost in the second round in 2004, and then in the first round of 2005. The 2006 New Jersey Nets bounced back with an improved season and successful advancement in the playoffs. Kidd was still […]
The Washington Wizards made a big step forward in 2005. The acquisition of Gilbert Arenas triggered the franchise’s first playoff season since 1997, and its first postseason series victory since 1982. The 2006 Washington Wizards came close to matching that achievement, before a heartbreaking playoff loss. Arenas had a big year, pouring in 29ppg and […]
After pulling a historic upset in 1994—the first 8-seed to win a playoff series—the Nuggets fell on hard times. They missed the postseason eight straight years, from 1996 through 2003. George Karl took over the team and got them back into the playoffs in 2004 and 2005. The 2006 Denver Nuggets team continued the pattern, […]
For over a decade, the Indiana Pacers had been on a run of success. A trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994 triggered a stretch that included six appearances in the conference finals and one NBA Finals trip. But in 2005, the infamous Malice in the Palace brawl that resulted in multiple suspensions, ruined the […]
In 2005, buoyed by the arrival of rookies Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, the Bulls made the playoffs for the first time since the Michael Jordan Era ended seven years earlier. The 2006 Chicago Bulls regressed a bit, but in the end still got back into the postseason. Gordon and Deng continued to lead the […]
After reaching the conference finals and losing a controversial seven-game series in 2001, the Bucks had fallen on hard times. In 2005, they struggled to a 30-52 season. When the lottery balls fell their way, the 2006 Milwaukee Bucks got an opportunity to rebuild with the first overall pick in the draft. They selected center […]
The 2015 San Antonio Spurs came into the season on a high—a redemptive championship run in 2014 that provided one more layer of greatness to the legacies of power forward Tim Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich. The ’15 Spurs were plenty good, but in a competitive Western Conference landscape, they slipped from championship level. […]
The 2014 San Antonio Spurs came into the season on a mission for redemption. They had come agonizingly close to winning the NBA championship in 2013—in fact as close as any team has come to winning the title without actually doing so. Most of their key players, especially Tim Duncan, were getting older. If this […]
The 2013 San Antonio Spurs had a magnificent season, a tremendous playoff run and they battled in one of the great NBA Finals of all-time. A pair of crushing losses left them just short of the title, but the ’13 Spurs marked Tim Duncan’s return to the Finals for the first time since 2007 and […]