This was one of my favorite NBA Playoff series of my lifetime. The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers vs The Sacramento Kings.
I personally think the Kings were cheated out of a trip to the NBA Finals. Going into game 6 the Kings had a 3-2 series lead and was looking to close out the series at the Staples Center.
People like to refer to the current NBA as rigged or staged, but game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, the fix was in. The refs repeatedly made questionable calls against the Kings in the 4th quarter. Some would say the NBA wanted this series to go to 7 games no matter what.
The Lakers were good don’t get wrong, but the Kings got the best of them in this series. I still believe the 2002 Kings are one of the best teams to never play in the finals.
source https://www.offsports.xyz/2020/03/a-look-back-at-02-western-conference.html