Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant formed arguably the best one-two punch in NBA history, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship three-peat from 2000-02 and the league Finals in four out of five seasons from 2000-04.
Gamers can now play as the 2000-01 team of that Lakers' dynasty and the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons as two dominant throwback teams in NBA 2K16. The title revealed the squads as part of its weekly Throwback Thursday series on social media.
#TBT Two dominant teams: The ’00-’01 Lakers & ’03-’04 Pistons are heading your way in #NBA2K16! NEW teams every Thur!
— 2K United Kingdom (@2K_UK) August 20, 2015
There's no disputing the 2000-01 Lakers as one of the most-dominant teams in league history, having rattled off 56 regular-season wins before cruising to the NBA Finals with a perfect 11-0. That squad's only postseason blemish was losing a memorable Game 1 of the Finals to Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers before winning the next four games and hoisting yet another championship trophy. O'Neal was named the Finals MVP.
Ironically, the 2003-04 Pistons put a final end to that Lakers dynasty, cruising past Bryant and O'Neal in five games in the 2004 Finals after a 54-win regular-season record. Following the Lakers' loss, the franchise wound up trading O'Neal to the Miami Heat, disbanding the Kobe-Shaq combination. O'Neal went on to win one more championship and Bryant two.
Nevertheless, it's always great to take a trip back through time and remember. What better way of doing that than by being able to utilize these two great squads?
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