NBA Live 2002 (PS2) (Lakers vs Pistons) (January 8th 2002)

The Lakers go to The Palace of Auburn Hills to face the Detroit Pistons, who have once again changed their team logo, possibly to avoid getting sued by the Dallas Mavericks, who deserve to have a horse in their logo than the Pistons. Fun fact: Rick Carlisle was a widely respected assistant coach who had been a contributor for the Boston Celtics during the mid-1980s. (Final scores IRL) Lakers won Lakers - 121 Pistons - 92 Los Angeles Lakers 2001-2002 Roster Lineup #34 Shaquille "Shaq Diesel" O'Neal (Cover athlete on the NBA Live 96 PS1 box, and NBA 2K6 and 2K7's game boxes and 2K18 Legend) (   • SHAQUILLE O'NEAL | 75 Stories 💎  ) #52 Samaki Walker (Waived by the Spurs on Jun 29th, signed free agent with Mitch Richmond on Jul 20th, father of Jabari Walker of the 2025-2026 Philadelphia 76ers) #17 Rick Fox (The actor) #8 Kobe Bryant (R.I.P. January 26th 2020) (Son of Joe "Jellybean" Bryant (R.I.P. July 15th 2024) of the 1976-1979 Philadelphia 76ers, the cover athlete on NBA Courtside 1&2 and NBA Courtside 2002, NBA 2K10, 2K17 Legend Edition, 2K21 Mamba Forever Edition, and 2K24) (   • KOBE BRYANT | 75 Stories 💎  ) #2 Derek Fisher (Brother of Duane Washington Sr. of the 1993 L.A. Clippers, uncle of Duane Washington Jr. of the 2022-2023 Phoenix Suns, former head coach of the WNBA's 2019-2022 L.A. Sparks) Bench #57 Nolan "No Man's Land" Owens (A fictional player I created from NBA Live 97 and father of Shep Owens of the 2022-2023 Miami Heat in my version of NBA 2K23's MyCareer story) #5 Robert "Big Shot Rob" Horry #23 Mitch Richmond (The cover athlete on NBA Live 97, released from the Wizards, signed free agent on Jul 20th with Samaki Walker) #3 Devean George #6 Jelani McCoy (Released into free agency from the Sonics, signed with the Lakers on Sept 21st) #10 Lindsey Hunter (Traded from the Bucks for Greg Foster on Jun 28th, currently a coach at Sparta (Michigan) High School) #35 Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen (Former player development coach of the 2013-2019 L.A. Lakers, current head coach at the University of California) #14 Stanislav Medvedenko Lakers head coach: Phil Jackson Detroit Pistons 2001-2002 Roster Lineup #3 Ben "The Beast/Big Ben" Wallace (The 2001-2002 season Defensive Player of the Year, cover athlete on ESPN NBA 2K5, 2021 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, and currently the Pistons team management advisor) #30 Cliff Robinson (R.I.P. August 29th 2020) (Traded from the Suns for Jud Buechler and John Wallace on Jul 18th) #34 Corliss "Big Nasty" Williamson (The 2001-2002 Sixth Man of the Year) #42 Jerry Stackhouse (Brother of Tony Dawson of the 1991 Sacramento Kings and 1995 Boston Celtics) #7 Chucky Atkins Bench #39 Zeljko Rebraca (Drafted by the Sonics as the 2nd Round 27th pick 54th overall from the 1994 NBA Draft but played basketball in Serbia for 7 seasons, while the Sonics traded his NBA rights to the Timberwolves, then the Timberwolves traded his NBA rights to the Raptors in 1999, then the Raptors traded his NBA rights to the Pistons in Jul 18th 2001 for a 2002 2nd Round draft pick (Tito Maddox), currently he is the president of Vojvodina basketball club) #35 Brian "The Custodian" Cardinal #9 Victor "Big Smoothie" Alexander (Signed free agent on Sept 10th) #1 Dana Barros (Owner of the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton, Massachusetts) #44 Ratko Varda (Signed free agent on Jul 24th) #20 Jon Barry (Traded from the Kings with a 2003 1st Round pick (Carlos Delfino) for Mateen "Motown" Cleaves on Sept 7th, son of Rick Barry of the 1973-1978 Golden State Warriors, brother of Brent Barry of the 1999-2004 Seattle Sonics, and Drew Barry who retired from the NBA after playing for the 1999-2000 Atlanta Hawks, Jon is currently the lead analyst for ESPN Radio's coverage of the NBA) #14 Damon Jones (Signed free agent on Oct 29th, today he has been arrested by the FBI for illegal gambling in the NBA with Chauncey Billups and many others) (I created this player) #31 Mikki Moore #12 Michael Curry #5 Rodney White (1st Round 9th pick from the 2001 NBA Draft) Pistons head coach: Rick Carlisle (2001-2002 Coach of the Year, currently the head coach of the 2021-2026 Indiana Pacers)