It's June 22nd, 2000, three days before the Lakers victory parade.

Phil Jackson calls his world champion team together at their training facility in Los Angeles.

The players are still soaring from shutting down the Pacers with clutch play after clutch

play as the clock tick down on Game 6.

Maybe there's still a faint smell of champagne in the air.

Their achievement is still hours old, but Phil Jackson isn't focused on the past.

His focus is already on the next season.

He knows that when players become champions, the first thing they lose is the insatiable hunger

to win it all again. So Jackson delivers a warning. He says, you never want a ring as badly as

you want that first one. It's only going to get harder from here.

The players nod politely, but they don't believe him. They're pretty sure they know how to win.

They've got the trophy to prove it. They tell each other the coach has to try and scare

them into focusing. That's just Jackson doing his job. But clearly, now that they know what they're

doing, winning the next one can only be easier. In any case, a double-decker bus is waiting to parade

the lake show through a city awash with Laker fever. Thousands pack the streets, shouting,

cheering, greeting them as conquering heroes. They chant their names.

They cheer for Shaq, the newly minted league and NBA finals MVP.

The players are loving the limelight. Shaq shouts into the microphone to all of his now loyal

subjects. They can indeed. It's a great day in Lakerland. They'll remember what the warmth of

that championship glow felt like when the new season begins. But the pesky warning Jackson gave

them right before the parade? Well, they'll forget that entirely to soon.

Hey, Prime members, you can listen to sports wars at free on Amazon Music. Download the app today.

...