Los Angeles Lakers: 10 best moments of 2010’s

1. Winning the 2010 NBA Championship

After a decade of futility, it is sometimes hard to remember that the Lakers were the first champions of the decade in 2010. That championship was one of the sweetest in Lakers’ history because it was over the bitter rival Boston Celtics, that had beaten the Lakers in the finals two seasons prior.

This was a well-earned title because the series was such a battle that lasted a grueling seven games. The final game was nerve-racking, and it took a clutch three from Ron Artest of all people to seal the victory.

Artest’s post-game press conference became an instant classic and had one of the best post-championship quotes of all-time when he yelled,

"“I can’t believe Kobe passed me the ball.”"

Kobe may have passed the ball in the clutch because he was having one of the worst shooting performances in his finals career. However, he still took control of the game in other ways by battling on defense and getting teammates involved.

This championship put a cap on the Lakers back-to-back titles and three straight finals appearances. This was also a special title because it was Kobe Bryant’s fifth title and Phil Jackson‘s eleventh title as a coach, which is the most in NBA history.

It was truly the end of a great run for a core of Lakers that was led by Kobe, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum. Those stars helped create the second dynastic run for Phil Jackson as a Lakers coach and cemented Kobe’s legacy as perhaps the greatest Lakers player ever.

After this championship Phil Jackson left, Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace, and the Lakers went downhill as Kobe’s career declined. At least the Lakers will remember this decade for starting and ending with a bang, and maybe they can start the next one just like the 2010s, with a championship.