Let there be no more doubts about Kobe Bryant’s greatness, nor of Phil Jackson’s legacy.

The Los Angeles Lakers dominated game 5 of their matchup against the Orlando Magic to capture the franchise’s 15th NBA championship over-all. The win is Bryant’s 4th title in 6 appearances, while it is Phil Jackson’s 10th title as a coach.

With the win, Kobe Bryant has finally stepped out of Shaquille O’neal’s shadow. Kobe’s first 3 titles were won with Shaq manning the middle. O’neal won a title in Miami, two years after moving from L.A. So Kobe had to prove that he can win one without Shaq. Kobe is no doubt a future Hall of Famer, but with this win, he has shown everyone that he can lift his team as the marquee player.

Similarly, it can not be doubted that Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches the NBA has ever seen, but it remained a question whether he is the best, despite winning 9 prior to this win. With the 9 wins, he was tied with the late Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics, but was criticized by Auerbach himself, who alleged that Jackson never really built a team, and whose championship teams were already ready-built for him. There may have been some grain of truth to that statement, since Jackson won his first 6 when Michael Jordan was at his peak, and got his last 3 while Shaq and Kobe were starting to have some sort of chemistry playing together for the Lakers. But that can no longer be said of Jackson with his win with the 2009 Lakers. He formed the team from scratch in 2005, with Kobe as the cornerstone. With his 10 championships, he is now the only coach to achieve that milestone. And with the win, he has once again bolstered the argument in his favor as to who is the best NBA coach of all time.

As for the Orlando Magic, they put up a great fight, even forcing two overtime games in their five matches against the Lakers. They even had a big chance to capture those two in their favor. Alas, lack of experience did them in. Coach Stan Van Gundy had substitution problems, opting to play the still rusty Jameer Nelson (who made key mistakes down the stretch) in favor of the designated point guard Rafer Alston in Game 4. Other Magic players also committed key mistakes. Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu missed crucial free throws in some of the games that ultimately cost them the wins. Rashard Lewis was also virtually nonexistent in the last two games, something that Magic sorely missed. And as a team, they weren’t hitting their three-point shots, an arsenal that was crucial in their previous series.

Even though the Magic lost, things are looking up for them. They will have Jameer Nelson 100% healthy (or close to it) next season. The core will be intact. So as long as they learn something from this experience, and tweak their style a little bit, this will not be Orlando’s last appearance in the NBA finals in the next years to come.

The 2008-2009 NBA season has ended with a bang, with the L.A. Lakers coming out on top. The past year has been good for the NBA, and it has been a good one for the fans as well. With the L.A. Lakers defending the title next year, and with the other teams getting stronger, we’ll expect to see another exciting (and hopefully better) season for 2009-2010.

Photo credit: laist.com