What a way to close off an exciting 2008-2009 season, thanks to the entire NBA for bringing us pure basketball entertainment and reminding us why we love this game. Hats off to the 2009 NBA Champs, the Los Angeles Lakers, for harnessing their talent, defying criticism, and are now basking in all the glory. The victorious team was led by the combined forces of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, who served as hard working facilitators for their deep supporting bench, under Phil Jackson who has time and again demonstrated his overqualifications as a prolific coach. The Laker franchise have tallied number 15 to their list of championship titles in history. In fact, they’ve got a lot of numbers to tally, so we bring you a breakdown of how they all add up – take a look at the Lakers winning it all, by the numbers.

1

• The number of NBA Finals MVP honor awarded to Kobe Bryant.
• The number of championship titles Phil Jackson has over Red Auerbach.
• The number of titles Kobe Bryant has won without Shaquille O’Neal.
• The first championship for the following players on the current Laker roster: Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Shannon Brown, Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Didier-Ilunga Mbenga, Josh Powell, Adam Morrison, Sun Yue.

2

• The number of critical clutch three-pointers drained by Derek Fisher in Game 4 of the 2009 Finals series.
• Derek Fisher’s jersey #.
• The number of titles Lakers need to win to match Celtics championship title record.

3

• Trevor Ariza’s jersey #.

4

• IV. The Nike Zoom IV, Kobe’s signature shoes which dropped in 2009 in multiple colorways and were sported by Kobe Bryant, Shannon Brown, Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and Trevor Ariza during the post season.
• The number of hours it will take the Lakers to fly back from Orlando to home sweet home after winning their final game away at Amway arena.
• The number of points the Lakers lost to the Magic in Game 3, the only game they lost to the Magic this series.
• The number of Lakers championships won this decade, and as a matter of fact, this century.
• The number of championships won under Coach Phil Jackson.
• The number of championships for both Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher.
• The number of championships won at Staples Center.
• Luke Walton’s jersey #.

5

• The number of points Lakers defeated the Magic in game 2.
• The number of total games it took for Lakers to defeat the Magic in the final series.
• The number of years it’s been since Shaq left the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Jordan Farmar’s jersey #.

6

• The number of finals appearances made by the Lakers this decade.
• Adam Morrison’s jersey #.

7

• Lamar Odom’s jersey #.
• The number of years since the Lakers’ last championship title in 2002.
• The same height of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and DJ Mbenga in feet.

8

• Kobe’s former jersey number (prior to the 2006-2007 season)
• The number of points Lakers defeated the Magic in game 4.

9

• The average number of rebounds per game for Lamar Odom during playoffs.
• The number of championship titles Lakers are ahead of the Chicago Bulls.
• Sun Yue’s jersey #.

10

• The number of championship titles Phil Jackson has won as coach. The clever hat, aka X, his family made for him to wear after the finals victory.
• The number of average rebounds for Pau Gasol during playoffs.
• The number of years Lakers have played at their venue Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

11

• The number of points per game averaged by Trevor Ariza during playoffs.

12

• The number of points per game averaged by Lamar Odom during playoffs.
• The number of finals appearances by Phil Jackson.
• The number of years Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher have been in the league.
• Shannon Brown’s jersey #.

13

• The number of points Lakers defeated the Magic in game 5, the final game to clinch the championship title.

14

• The date Lakers sealed game 5, June 14, 2009.

14.5

• The number of pounds the Larry O’Brien trophy weighs.

15

• The number of total championship titles in Laker franchise history.

16

• The total number of playing time minutes for Mbenga in the post season.
• The number of double-doubles Pau had during playoffs. It’s also Pau Gasol’s jersey #.

17

• The number of losses for the Lakers during the entire regular 2008-2009 season.
• Andrew Bynum’s jersey #.

18

• Sasha Vujacic aka the Machine’s jersey #, who wasn’t able to capitalize on his machine-like three’s in the post season as much as he had during the regular season.

19

• The total number of 3-pt FG’s made by Derek Fisher during playoffs.

20

• The number of years since the Magic franchise was founded.

21

• The number of years Andrew Bynum has been on this earth. 21 years young, and still looking to develop and mature as a center.
• Josh Powell’s jersey #.

22

• Jordan Farmar’s age.

23

• The number of games Lakers played in the post season.

24

• Kobe’s jersey #.
• Trevor Ariza’s age.

25

• The number of points Lakers defeated the Magic in game 1.
• The number of people arrested in the riots in LA following the championship.

26

• The average age of the Laker team.
• The highest number of points scored by Lamar Odom in game 5, first round versus Utah.

27

• The number of 3-pointers attempted by the Magic in game 4, of which only 8 were successful.

28

• The number of NBA titles clinched on the road. The Lakers happened to be the 28th to win it all away.
• D.J. Menga’s jersey #.

29

• Pau Gasol, Luke Walton, and Lamar Odom’s age.

30

• The number of average points per game for Kobe Bryant during playoffs.
• Kobe’s age.
• The number of total appearances made by the Lakers in NBA finals, more than any other NBA team.

31

• The total number of blocks by Lamar Odom during the playoffs.
• The number of Larry O’Briens given out since 1974.

32

• The number of average points per game for Kobe Bryant during the finals.
• Magic Johnson’s #.