NBA Opening Night! Will LeBron James and the Miami Heat repeat? Did Los Angeles Lakers add the right pieces to win it all this year?

Like / Share if you’re rooting for the Lakers this year. Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol & Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers pose for a photo during Media Day at Toyota Sports Center. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images).

June 27, 1996: Kobe Bryant receiving his Los Angeles Lakers jersey next to Jerry West and Del Harris.

Kobe is introduced in Los Angeles after being acquired from the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft.

[Photo by Steve W. Grayson, UPI]

siphotos:

June 19, 2000 – On this day in 2000, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to their first of three consecutive championships with a 116-111 victory over Indiana in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. O’Neal would win MVP honors after averaging 38 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks during the series. (John Biever/SI)

GALLERY: Rare Photos of Shaquille O’Neal | Kobe Bryant

Madvillain. Kobe unstoppable. Man with the mask. Man on a mission.