Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty

Kobe Bryant had unleashed an ungodly 50 shots against the Jazz. It was the most single-game attempts in NBA history, and it felt right.

When I mentioned how Bryant had coined his own nickname (“Black Mamba”) and referred to himself as “Mamba” with odd earnestness, O’Neal grimaced. “Now,” he said, “you understand what I had to deal with.”

He just knew it. “A team always beats a group of individuals,” he said. “We picked a poor time to be a group of individuals.”

Despite having coached the Danny Manning–led Kansas Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title, and despite having coached the Allen Iverson–led Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals, the job Larry Brown was doing with the Pistons was his most remarkable work in a 32-year sideline career. Detroit’s roster featured zero future Hall of Famers, and zero play

With Jackson, O’Neal, and Bryant, they had posted a 13-1 mark in the NBA Finals. The Pacers, Sixers, and Nets were all roadkill for a franchise destined for greatness, and 2004 appeared to be no different.

When Denver’s Ricky Pierce went after Payton, the Glove snapped, “I’ll kill your family.”

In the fall of 1983, when he was a 20-year-old college sophomore, Malone had returned to his hometown of Summerfield, Louisiana, and impregnated a 13-year-old named Gloria Bell. When, on May 3, 1984, she gave birth to a son named Demetress, Karl was nowhere to be found.

One day later, in the most awkward husband-and-wife press session since Mike Tyson and Robin Givens sat down for a 1988 Barbara Walters interview, the Bryants appeared at a news conference inside Staples Center, holding hands and appearing on the brink of tears. “I sit here in front of you guys, furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making the

peak. At 30, the great low-post scorers were at their greatest. At 30, Bill Russell was averaging 14.1 points and 24.1 rebounds for the 1964–65 world champion Boston Celtics. At 30, Wilt Chamberlain was averaging 24.1 points and 24.2 rebounds for the 1966–67 world champion Philadelphia 76ers. At 30, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was averaging 25.8 points and