VIDEO: Lakers Defeat Thunder In First Round Of 2010 NBA Playoffs

Heading into the 2010 NBA Playoffs, the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers seemed to be in a bit of a rut. Though they were the top team in the Western Conference, they had lost six of their last nine games heading into the postseason.

Awaiting them in the first round was a young, upstart Oklahoma City Thunder team, making their first-ever playoff appearance. Most expected the Lakers to steamroll the inexperienced Thunder, but they were terribly wrong.

The Thunder were a fearless bunch, led by their All-Star Kevin Durant. They gave the Lakers all they could handle in the first two games but failed to pick up a victory.

In the next two games in OKC, however, the Thunder outplayed and out-hustled the older Lakers and would tie the series, much to the shock of the Lakers and most of the viewing public.

The Lakers would eventually win at home and finish the series in six games after a hard-fought final game in which Pau Gasol would rebound and lay in a missed Kobe Bryant shot with less than a second left to give the team the win.

The tough series would serve as a wake-up call for the Lakers that the playoffs had begun, and it was time to get serious. It also introduced the world to the Oklahoma City Thunder and stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Many believe the Lakers would not have won the championship that season had it not been for the Thunder series in the first round.

For that, we can only thank them.

Re-live the epic Game 6 below:

You May Also Like

Kobe Bryant’s Playing Time Issue & The Top NBA News

Top Story: The Lakers will open up the 2010-2011 season on Tuesday…

Lakers Coach Byron Scott: Players Already Thinking About Offseason

In the first game of a home-and-home against cross two rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers suffered an embarrassing 22-point loss…

Lakers News: Anthony Davis ‘Confident’ In Three-Point Shooting Heading Into 2020 NBA Playoffs

Anthony Davis is one of the rare players in the NBA who can dominate a game on both ends of the floor, but still somehow…

Former Lakers Guard Nick Van Exel Among Inductees To 2018 James P. Kelly Hall Of Fame Class At University Of Cincinnati

Former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Nick Van Exel was among four inductees announced by the University of…