The Lakers' last chance to avoid disaster in 2010 needs a deep rewind

Game 5 of the 2010 series between the LA Lakers and Phoenix Suns presented a crossroads. As time expired, the Lakers had one last chance to win, and in doing so, avoid the infamy of a terrible collapse. The Suns, meanwhile, could force overtime, steal a victory, and perhaps make an unexpected run to the Finals.

Let's visit that moment. Kobe Bryant has the ball. Everyone's mad at (the man formerly known as) Ron Artest. Steve Nash and Jason Richardson just made miracles for the Suns. What's on everyone's mind? What happens next? Before we find out, let's rewind.

Written and produced by Seth Rosenthal
Directed and edited by Jiazhen Zhang

[mrwizardalien]

This is why I love rewind, especially about moments I don't know. NEVER would have expected that ending

[SpaderB]

The "Chuck Person's name being a violent command" joke took me a second, but man did I laugh when I got it

[futurecoug]

Kobe & Ron celebrating like that will forever bring a tear to my eye

[daschwah]

One of the reasons why this one was such a gut-ripper was because of how special that Suns team is. Basically a “begged, borrowed and busted” roster of young misfits and stars on the decline (including STAT) who came together to things that felt impossible against vastly superior teams.

The loss didn’t just end that run, it led to yet another PHX Little Dark Age. Ironic, being that we’re probably on the cusp of another one.

[austinemms]

I know many people talk about Kobe and Pau’s performances through the 2010 Playoffs but Ron Artest was an amazing depth piece during their run as well.

[atypewriter]

Sounds like Artest always played hard and with intense passion which paid off immensely in this moment. He's the only player that's actively going for the ball while everyone else assumes that a miss will just lead to OT. His defender is much more lackadaisical in corralling the rebound which is why he gets boxed out

[Lloyd]

and then he buried a 3 to ice game 7 in the finals against the Celtics... Ron is forever loved in LA! Had the pleasure of meeting him, very cool guy!

[cashmoney]

Thank you for uploading this moment. As a Laker fan, this moment was so critical on the way to the 2010 title. It swung the momentum in our favour. Artest being clutch in this game, and the shot he hit in game 7 vs Boston will always be remembered

[ghostflame]

it's funny how you mention artest's history with the lakers. i fondly remember him showing his heart and defensive prowess in the finals, and even before that i personally was excited to hear in the 09 offseason that he was on the lakers. now he would be using that defense to help kobe and pau instead of making life difficult for them. but youre right, after the malice in the palace, he never really shed his "bad guy" persona, and even when he came to the lakers, he was treated as an odd man out by many fans. i distinctly remember friends in high school saying "he will never be trevor ariza."

but damn, did he redeem himself. showed us exactly how good his defense was during every round of the playoffs, picked up the slack when kobe and others werent shooting so well in game 7 vs boston (including the dagger 3 that everyone remembers), and perhaps most importantly, made this miracle buzzer beater . history couldve remembered him totally different had he not scored here.

[ilgvarscevers]

Still remember Nash crying in the locker room after PHX lost this series

[JoeBChill]

Instantly watching. This 2010 postseason run is one of my all time favorites

[Danno-tlrp]

That's why Meta still has a home in LA. He has his place enshrined in Laker lore. Great sports story.

[stonecoldku]

2008 National Championship game. Kansas vs Memphis. Mario's Miracle deserves a Deep Rewind.

[rommelflores]

Ron Artest was special in 2010. I missed that Lakers roster too!

[AirRusher]

I definitely remember this for sure. Another clutch moment that propeled by belover Lakers to back-to-back championship with a 7-game series win over the Celtics.

Ron was such a big part for our title run not only with this one but also a huge to put Boston away.

[coolvidzman]

Any new deep rewind is an INSTANT watch

[Hoover]

As a Suns fan who grew up in this era, it's still a top 5 gut wrenching moment for a "what could have been" with the playoffs.but Still nothing will ever top the Robert Horry incident and bs suspensions

[johnl.]

Nothing reminds me of Father Time than hearing a sports star being called old while being in their early 30’s 😢

[Davivd]

Every one of those Ron Artest-MWP seasons was a roller coaster ride. The guy could play a great game and throw it all away at any moment with some real head scratching decisions.

[Riles]

2010 was the last year of Kobe's prime. After winning the title last year and proving he could lead the Lakers to a title w/out Shaq, he could have had every reason to be satisfied, but he came back into the next season hungry for another one.

As far as Ron, for those who watched that entire season and playoff up till this game, he had kind of an up and down year in LA. I honestly thought Trever Ariza from the previous year's title team was a slightly better fit, but when in the most important games of that playoff run (this game, game 6 against PHX, and game 7 against Celtics) Ron showed up! So glad to see him get a title after all he went through (And put himself through).