Why did 2002 NBA Western Conference Finals between LA Lakers and Sacramento Kings create controversy? All the details you need to know

The LA Lakers' success at the beginning of the new millennium began a new era. In 2000-2002, the Lakers topped the basketball world by winning a three-peat in the NBA Finals. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant went down in history as the greatest LA Lakers duo.

However, some say that their three-peat shouldn't have happened in the first place. The claim came after the 2002 Western Conference Finals matchup between the LA Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. Many believe that the Kings should've won the series.

Let's take a closer look at what happened in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.

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Did the Sacramento Kings have the LA Lakers beat?

Chris Webber

In 2002, the Sacramento Kings appeared to have the LA Lakers' number. The Lakers were back-to-back defending champions at that point. But it seemed like the Kings were on the verge of dethroning the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Chris Webber and Mike Bibby were Sacramento's star duo. They had a phenomenal season in 2002, sitting on top of the Western Conference with a record of 61-21. The LA Lakers were in the third seed coming into the playoffs. NBA fans felt that it could be the year that Webber and the Kings won the championship.

After successfully winning the first two rounds of the 2002 playoffs, it was time to settle the score between the Kings and Lakers. It was a neck-and-neck battle between the two teams.

LA took game one, while Sacramento won the next two. The Lakers were able to tie the series in game four. However, the Kings secured the 3-2 series advantage in a nail-biting game-five win, 92-91.

According to Fadeaway World, the controversy began in game six of the WCF. Many speculated that the game was rigged. Shaq was overly physical, and the refs didn't call many fouls. The refs also made some bad calls against the Kings for almost the entirety of the game. This was especially obvious in the fourth quarter.

Rumors of the dispute first surfaced during the fourth quarter. Because of how many foul shots the Lakers attempted, many fans, especially Kings supporters, thought the NBA had fixed the game. The Lakers averaged roughly 25 free throw attempts per game over the series' first five games. The Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter of Game 6 and made 21 of them.

The Kings only attempted nine free throws throughout the quarter, making seven. The Lakers attempted 18 more free throws in the quarter. The Lakers eventually prevailed 106-102 to force a decisive Game 7. They defeated the Kings in Sacramento en route to capturing their third championship by sweeping the New Jersey Nets.