From the L.A. Times - Band of gold: Lakers are champions again | 
Lakers finally get their taste. Undeniably, it was Kobe Bryant’s night. He had 30 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one very important addition to his portfolio. He finally won a championship without Shaquille O’Neal.
Two years and a month after demanding to be traded from the Lakers, he smiled in the final minute of Game 5, turning to teammate Lamar Odom and saying, “It’s over.”
It was over, indeed, but successful for several Lakers, each of whom left the building having fulfilled his own story line.
From the L.A. Times – Band of gold: Lakers are champions again
Published on: 15th June, 2009
by Scott Mandel
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Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and teammates Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza begin to celebrate their NBA championship after defeating the Orlando Magic, 99-86, on Sunday.
They finish off Magic in Game 5 to win 15th NBA title, and 10th in L.A. Phil Jackson earns record 10th ring as a coach, and Kobe Bryant gets his fourth — and first without Shaquille O’Neal.
Reporting from Orlando, Fla. — Seven years after their last championship, five years after a series of humbling losses in Detroit, and 362 days after a futile Finals effort against Boston, the Lakers were back, in a big way.
A victory parade will proceed through Los Angeles on Wednesday, the celebration becoming official after the Lakers thumped the Orlando Magic on Sunday, 99-86, to win the NBA Finals, four games to one.
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