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OLYMPIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
He scores 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Americans to a 118-107 victory in the men's basketball final.
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HELENE ELLIOTT
Bryant is jubilant after the U.S. men's team beats Spain to win Olympic gold in Beijing. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have garnered the fame. For Kobe Bryant, the reward is much more valuable. >>
OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Argentines give the Americans their toughest game so far, relying on a zone defense, but U.S. still prevails, 101-81. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
An Olympic gold medal would be the perfect present for the Lakers star, who went from estrangement early in the season to an MVP award and the NBA Finals. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON BASKETBALL
Chinese fans adore the Lakers star, whose commercial appeal has had quite a rebound. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
A giant statue of former Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal looms over Chaoyang Park in Beijing. Some of the locals aren't sure why he's here. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
What's being redeemed isn't only their record but their global reputation, which had suffered in the years since 1992's Dream Team. >>
OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
The Americans appear to have recaptured their dominant form of yesteryear, improving their record to 4-0 in the Beijing Olympics at the expense of Lakers' Pau Gasol and his Spanish teammates. >>
OLYMPIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Lakers teammates lead the U.S. and Spain in a Pool B showdown. Bryant looks at it as payback for 2002. >>
OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Greece's pick-and-roll is no longer a problem for Americans, who avenge their stunning 2006 World Championships loss. >>
MARK HEISLER ON OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Basketball team photo, which was shot for newspaper ads, doesn't go over well. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Feeling awed and humble, for a night at least, it was that kid we knew before all the superstar drama. He was part of a team -- Team USA -- as he marched into the stadium during the opening ceremony. >>
OLYMPICS
With Kobe Bryant leading all scorers with 19 points, the American men ran their exhibition record to 4-0 by pulling away to beat Russia, 89-68 >>
NBA
The 6-foot-9 Sun, a member of the Chinese national team playing in the Beijing Olympics, is expected to play mostly at shooting guard. >>
BASKETBALL
The Clippers' first game will be against the Lakers, who will take on the Celtics at Staples Center on Christmas Day. >>
OLYMPIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Americans use their speed to dominate exhibition opponents. Australia is the final test before Beijing. >>
Mark Heisler / On Olympic Basketball
Five-star hotels and police escorts are interrupted only by an easy 89-68 victory over Russia in another Olympic tuneup game. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Then again, the real test is still ahead. But Kobe Bryant and Coach Mike Krzyzewski have given the Americans some teeth during preparation for Beijing Games and the international style of play. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Team from Lithuania finds out this is a different U.S. squad. >>
OLYMPIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
Lakers star locks down sharpshooter Sarunas Jasikevicius four years after he and Lithuania stunned the U.S. in Athens. >>
OLYMPICS
U.S. men's basketball team is looking to avoid another ominous loss in Thursday's exhibition game. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Two years ago, the de facto team leaders were a trio of players no older than 24. Now, there's maturity at the top of the U.S. squad. >>
OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
Lakers MVP practiced against former Trojan in Las Vegas and was impressed. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON THE NBA
Latest U.S. dream team jets from one ostentatious lap of luxury, Las Vegas, to another, Macao, for pre-Olympic training. As usual, they're traveling in the style to which they're accustomed. >>
NBA
Lakers guard insisted that there be no haircut clause in his new three-year, $15-million deal, which he signed Monday. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
The player and GM Mitch Kupchak both say they're happy the reserve guard will remain in Los Angeles. >>
JERRY CROWE
Text messages from press row ... >>
PRO BASKETBALL
The guard, a restricted free agent, hasn't received an offer sheet from another team because it is believed the Lakers would match it. >>
BASKETBALL
The Lakers guard is hungry for a gold medal after losing in the NBA Finals. He's also sad to see Ronny Turiaf leave but optimistic that Sasha Vujacic will re-sign with L.A. >>
LAKERS
Forward/center will go to Golden State after signing four-year, $17-million offer sheet. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
Lakers guard, who is Jewish, will travel to Israel in August to run basketball camps for Israeli and Palestinian children, with the goal of giving them a lasting foundation of friendship and goodwill. >>
LAKERS
Forward will have bone spurs removed from his right ankle, the team announces. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
Lakers seem unlikely to match the deal, which is for four years and about $17 million. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
L.A. would have seven days to match Golden State's four-year, $17-million offer, but that appears unlikely. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
Ticket prices go up for the third year in a row. Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf haven't signed offer sheets. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
Team is in a holding pattern until restricted free agents receive an offer so it can determine whether the price still fits into their budget. >>
LAKERS
As the team waits to see how things play out with Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, the fall-back plans include Celtics reserve small forward and Spurs veteran. >>
BILL DWYRE
Commissioner David Stern needs to acknowledge that fans think there's an unspoken code among referees to favor big-market teams, and he has a blueprint to fix this problem: baseball's Mitchell Report. >>
PRO BASKETBALL
Team hopes to re-sign the restricted free agents fresh off the best seasons of their careers. >>
Since retiring from basketball, he has built a business empire with roots in urban America. It pays to know the community, he says. >>
Q & A WITH KOBE BRYANT
The Lakers star has waited his entire career to play for the U.S. in the Olympics. And nothing less than winning a gold medal will do. >>
NBA
As free-agent talks can begin, Corey Maggette and Elton Brand face decisions for the Clippers, and Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf are in play for the Lakers. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON THE NBA
The league got an unexpected dream Finals matchup with the Lakers and Celtics and an entertaining finish with a trade-filled draft. >>
OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
At a mini-camp in Las Vegas for the U.S. basketball team, the Lakers star has virtually nothing to say about his former teammate's freestyle rap. >>
TEXT MESSAGES FROM PRESS ROW
The former Laker is rebuked by an Arizona sheriff over his freestyle ramblings about Kobe Bryant, but it's music fans that really let him know where he stands. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON THE NBA
The Finals offered a dramatic comparison between its Golden Age of the '80s and today. >>
T.J. SIMERS
The Celtics' parade will cost Boston taxpayers more than $300,000, but we haven't had that problem here for a while. >>
BILL DWYRE
Sports officiating's biggest problem isn't the refs, or even Tim Donaghy. It's the world of instant expectations that has blown the call. >>
JERRY CROWE
Text messages from press row . . . >>
MARK HEISLER / ON THE NBA
Return of Bynum could mean that Lakers want to move Odom and his $14 million salary. >>
T.J. SIMERS
Even with Coach Phil Jackson and MVP Kobe Bryant, the team that was favored going into the Finals lets itself get steamrolled by Celtics. The difference between the champs and chumps is striking. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Kobe Bryant made just seven of 22 mostly wild shots. He had just one assist. He had four turnovers. The league MVP was unable to carry a team that needed carrying. >>
LAKERS 103, BOSTON 98
Lakers again build a big lead and give it up, but this time they battle it out and win the war to force a Game 6 in Boston on Tuesday. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON THE NBA
It's unusual for a Phil Jackson-coached team to have its star's scoring limited, but Boston has kept Kobe Bryant under control for the most part. Yet the NBA Finals continue to go in unexpected directions. >>
T.J. SIMERS
I have a plane to catch to Boston. But before I go, the question: Is this a trip worth taking? >>
NBA FINALS
Times staff writer Lonnie White breaks down the keys to Game 5 and looks forward to Game 6: >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Staples Center crowd provides little edge for the home team. >>
NBA FINALS
Times staff writer Mike Bresnahan ties up some loose ends before each Finals game. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
The greatest coach in NBA history should have done something to prevent the greatest collapse in NBA Finals history. >>
MARK HEISLER / ON THE NBA
Twenty-four years after a similar debacle, a new generation of L.A. fan can finally relate. >>
T.J. SIMERS
The Lakers' coach has some explaining to do after his team blows a 24-point lead and loses Game 4 of the NBA Finals to the Celtics. >>
TV-RADIO
The former Knicks and Rockets coach fits in well with Mark Jackson and Mike Breen on ABC's telecasts. He still wants to coach but says broadcasting is not a short-term job. >>
The NBA owes it to fans to find out the truth about accusations of cheating in a 2002 Lakers game. >>
BEST LAKERS TEAM EVER TOURNAMENT
Which duo was better, Wilt and West or Kareem and Magic? Find out now. >>
JERRY CROWE
Text messages from press row . . . >>
NBA FINALS / THE DAILY CHATTER
Pundits and media types are having a hard time believing the Lakers can come back to win the series and one wonders why they seemed so unprepared. >>
NBA FINALS / Bresnahan's take
Vladimir Radmanovic provides Lakers with added rebounding help against physical Celtics. >>
LAKERS FYI
Red Sox pitcher criticized Lakers on his blog after Game 2. >>
JERRY CROWE
Text messages from press row: The trend for the NBA Finals' series comebacks isn't encouraging for the Lakers. >>
BEST LAKERS TEAM EVER TOURNAMENT
Showtime? Shaq and Kobe? Or the 1971-72 squad. Which teams make the finals? >>
KURT STREETER
Things aren't what they used to be, in the NBA Finals and in the presidential race . . . and that's a good thing. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Celtics fans take story about Pierce personally. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Their 'Bench Mob' gets outplayed by the Celtics' second wave in Game 1. >>
BEST LAKERS TEAM EVER TOURNAMENT
Will Mikan make it to the final four? And which teams were better, the Shaq-Kobe Lakers or the Showtime Lakers? >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Pierce not hurt as bad as he would have had the Lakers believe. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
They didn't choke. >>
BILL PLASCHKE
They won, right? >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Is that wheelchair still around? >>
BILL PLASCHKE
Like weary partygoers who awaken at last call, the Lakers and their fans lifted their heads Sunday night and together offered one last howling toast to the improbable. >>
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Your Vote
What should the Lakers do this off-season? 26.1 %
 Nothing. All they need is to get Andrew Bynum healthy.
18.1 %
Trade Lamar Odom for a more physical player
45.0 %
Sign Ron Artest to the mid-level exception
10.9 %
Dump Phil Jackson and hire a younger coach who can relate to the players better
17884 total responses
This poll is closed to voting.
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The 12 best Lakers title teams are matched up in a tournament. Which team wins? 
