Whether people in LA want to acknowledge it or not, the 2004-05 season marked an enormous change for the Los Angeles Laker franchise. Gone was Shaquille O’Neal, the cornerstone of the team since 1996, and a new era was born, where Laker management vowed to build around one of the most talented players in the league in Kobe Bryant.

In some ways it made sense for the 2003-04 season to end the way it did, because at that point the Lakers peaked in veteran, experienced, Hall of Fame talent and still could not come away with the one thing that keeps a season from being a failure. From that top peak in ’04, things came tumbling down in more ways than one in ’05.

Replacing an experienced battled-tested “old” team, was the fountain of youth that included Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, and Chris Mihm. Although it could be argued that Chucky Atkins brought some sort of vet savvy to the team, it remained relatively young in comparison to Laker teams of yesteryear. With the youth came another unfamiliarity: losing.

For the first time in a long time the Lakers finished with a losing record and failed to make the playoffs. Later, they suffered another embarrassment by having a worse record than their fellow LA Staples Center roommates, the Clippers. As if that wasn’t enough, tired of three straight seasons of losing, their star player Kobe Bryant went on a whirlwind media tour claiming that the Lakers were attempting to lay the Shaquille O’Neal’s exit at his footsteps, that they had deceived him regarding the team they claimed they would build around him, and that he would rather play on Pluto than continue to represent the purple and gold colors that he had worn his entire career.

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Ultimately however, in true Laker fashion, things turned themselves around. Andrew Bynum, a third year player who people had only seen glimpses of brilliance from, turned into a low-post beast before going down with an injury. Just when all seemed lost post-Bynum’s injury, the Lakers shocked the NBA by making a move for All-Star PF/C Pau Gasol. Eventually the Lakers found themselves back where they had always felt they belonged – the NBA Finals.

The entire rollercoaster ride however, began in the 2004-05 season. Because of this, LA Hoops Blog looks back on the top five adrenaline pumping, un-forgettable events from ’05 to this past season in a brief glance at highs and lows in recent purple and gold history.

#5

Continued at LA Hoops Blog