1995 Orlando Magic vs 2000 Los Angeles Lakers

[Lebron23]

Who wins in a best of 7 series? Penny averaged 25 ppg in the nba finals.

[Soundwave]

That would be close, Magic are a deeper squad, but Kobe is better than Penny and Shaq was older and more mature by 2000. I think the Lakers take it.

[JBSptfn]

Magic in five games. Don't know why people overrate the 2000-02 Lakers. They suck.

[Axe]

Magic in five games. Don't know why people overrate the 2000-02 Lakers. They suck.

Does this have anything to do with their head coach again?

[Baller234]

I got Lakers

- Lakers have Phil who's basically a god that point.

- Lakers Shaq isn't as fast but he's bigger, stronger and smarter.

- Skill for skill Kobe and Penny were about equals at this point, but Kobe was more aggressive and knew when to take over.

- The 95 Magic lost to a smarter and more seasoned team. The 00 Lakers are a smarter and more seasoned team.

[90sgoat]

Does Orland win if they have 1995 Hakeem instead of 1995 Shaq?

[CurryOverLebron]

I'd take Kobe over Shaq and Penny combined. Shaq isn't really that important. Kobe is simply a winner and any star that is paired with him will win multiple championships.

[ArbitraryWater]

That would be close, Magic are a deeper squad, but Kobe is better than Penny and Shaq was older and more mature by 2000. I think the Lakers take it.

Kobe and Penny would be a wash

[ArbitraryWater]

I'd take Kobe over Shaq and Penny combined. Shaq isn't really that important. Kobe is simply a winner and any star that is paired with him will win multiple championships.

Shaq was literally more important than Kobe but I know youre trolling anyway

[dankok8]

2000 Lakers in 5 or 6 games. 1995 Magic were not a good defensive team.

[Nowoco]

The Lakers would likely sweep them. The Rockets did with a far inferior team than the 2000 Lakers.

2000 Shaq was better than 1995 Shaq, especially defensively. The Lakers have a deeper roster and a better coach. That Magic team was good but they did get bounced out of the playoffs every year by being swept.

[JBSptfn]

The Lakers have a deeper roster and a better coach.

You are half right. The 00-02 Lakers just had Shaq, Kobe, and a collection of stiffs. Also, Brian Hill beat that better coach in the 1995 playoffs, and that Bulls team was scarier (because of MJ) than any of those 2000-02 Laker teams.

[Soundwave]

You are half right. The 00-02 Lakers just had Shaq, Kobe, and a collection of stiffs. Also, Brian Hill beat that better coach in the 1995 playoffs, and that Bulls team was scarier (because of MJ) than any of those 2000-02 Laker teams.

I mean well Glen Rice was a three time All-Star coming to the Lakers. He didn't really fit the group perfectly but he still averaged 17.8 ppg his first year there and just a hair under 16 ppg his second season there when they won the title. And this is of course in a much lower scoring league.

That's not terrible production for a third option.

[dankok8]

I've been watching a lot of Orlando Shaq lately and even though he had just totally unfair athleticism, he didn't work as hard to establish post position before the catch and also didn't put much effort into boxing out on either end as he did in his Lakers peak circa 2000. The result of that is defenders could either force him into a lower % shot from further out or simply had more time to foul him if he went up towards the rim. You'd often see Orlando Shaq will like 12 shots and 16 free throws attempts. The defense is happy with that. He still had a lot of impact by drawing multiple people in which opened up shooters but 2000 Shaq was just more savvy. He also improved his passing reads from his Orlando days to deal with aggressive doubles.

On defense Orlando Shaq also had an annoying tendency to veer to far to the perimeter and not be able to catch up to penetrators at the rim. When he stayed under the rim, he often deterred a drive although often swiped down and got into foul trouble. That's another thing he later cleaned up. Foul trouble was very common in his early days.

[Phoenix]

That would be close, Magic are a deeper squad, but Kobe is better than Penny and Shaq was older and more mature by 2000. I think the Lakers take it.

Don't think in a hypothetical matchup there's much if any difference with 2000 Kobe and 95 Penny.