What was the defining highlight of the Shaq and Kobe Bryant Lakers?

The 3-peat Lakers of the early 2000s had many memorable highlights and games as they rampaged their one through the league, becoming one of the greatest dynasties in the process. However, what was the defining moment of that generation of Lakers basketball under Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant?

On today’s episode of “Can U Dig It,” a podcast by the Silver Screen & Roll network, I’m joined by Alex Torres of Lakers Outsiders to first discuss the signing of Dennis Schröder and his return to Los Angeles. His move only further strengthens the idea that Russell Westbrook could be on the move, particularly as rumors persist of ongoing negotiations with the Jazz for a deal.

With much of the discussion about the Jazz and Lakers as well as the acquisition of Schröder being rehashes, we then dive into the latest rewatch of an old Lakers game. This time, we’re revisiting Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Blazers.

Before they won title after title, the Lakers were a team looking to make a breakthrough or, in this scenario, avoid an epic collapse at the brink of the FInals. In perhaps one of the biggest sliding door moments of the Lakers franchise, a double-digit comeback in the fourth quarter saved the Kobe and Shaq era and set the franchise on a path of dominance.

All of it was very, very nearly for naught as the Lakers seemingly did everything in their power to throw the game away throughout the first three quarters. Only some timely contributions from Lakers role players, an all-around impressive display from a young Kobe Bryant and Shaq being Shaq saved the Lakers from a potential future that would have split the feature franchise icons.

We discuss all that and more in today’s episode.

You can listen to all that and more on our latest episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude. And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.