NBA Playoffs History: 5 Greatest postseason runs of all time

#2 Los Angeles Lakers - 2001 NBA Playoffs (15-1 postseason)

Shaq and Kobe

The Lakers had won the NBA title the previous year, so hopes were high as the dynamic duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant was firing on all cylinders. The team finished the season with a record of 56-26 and were the number 2 seed in the Western Conference only behind the Spurs.

The Los Angeles Lakers swept the Trail Blazers having beaten them by double digits in all three games of the first round. In the Conference Semis, they went past the Sacramento Kings with ease winning four games.

The Conference Finals saw the Lakers defeat the number 1 seed San Antonio Spurs 4-0 and they became the first team since the 1988-89 Lakers to sweep the Conference Playoffs 11–0.

The Lakers won the Finals series 4 games to 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers. If not for Allen Iverson’s 48-point game (Game 1) overtime victory, the Lakers would have become the NBA’s only team to complete an undefeated postseason. LA successfully defended their crown as Shaquille O'Neal won the Finals MVP.