LAKERS MVP: SHAQ'S VALUE HERCULEAN.

Byline: Michael A. Anastasi Sports Editor 

PHILADELPHIA - Denied once, there was no denying Shaquille O'Neal on Friday.

For the second consecutive year, he is the most valuable player of the NBA Finals.

``I'm also greedy,'' O'Neal said, ``and I'm not done.''

O'Neal punctuated this series with 29 points and 13 rebounds Friday - his 22nd consecutive postseason double-double and the 52nd of his Lakers playoff career - and emphatically showed no one can dominate upon the NBA's grandest stage as the 7-foot-1, 340-pound basketball behemoth.

Especially Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, who upstaged O'Neal by winning MVP honors for a regular season in which he led the NBA in scoring at 31.1 points a game, the first player since Michael Jordan in 1996 to eclipse 30, but struggled in the Finals under the burden of expectation placed upon him by this city and, most significantly, his teammates.

In the end, O'Neal disrupted the Sixers offensively, defensively and emotionally.

He scored (33.0 average), set an NBA record for blocked shots in a five-game Finals (17 total, including a record-tying eight in Game 2), rebounded (15.8 average, 31 total offensive), found perimeter teammates when the defense collapsed (24 assists) and dismantled the league's defensive player of the year, Dikembe Mutombo, who played gamely and courageously but admitted he was simply overwhelmed.

``He truly was a great leader of this team,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``He was the motivator, the energizer for our team. This second championship was a validation of his greatness.''

Following the Lakers' defeat in Game 1, Jackson said he took aside O'Neal - who had, like Iverson, hit the 40-point plateau - and told him he failed to block a single shot.

``I told him, `We need your defense,' '' Jackson said. ``It was Shaq's defense that was the key to us winning this series.''

O'Neal became the second Lakers player - joining Magic Johnson, honored in 1980, 1982 and 1987 - to win the award more than once (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won two, but one was with the Milwaukee Bucks), and it was the franchise's ninth Finals MVP since it was established in 1969 and won by Jerry West.

``The first championship was to get the monkey off my back,'' O'Neal said. ``The rest are the ones to stamp my name in history.''

A history he shares with West, who as an executive brought O'Neal to Los Angeles in 1996 with the then-largest contract in professional sports with the express purpose of restoring the Lakers' championship tradition. It was clear Friday the two newest banners that will hang in Staples Center next season would not be there without O'Neal, Kobe Bryant's bewildering playmaking skill aside.

``Mr. West promised me he would always have a great team around me,'' O'Neal said. ``He has kept his promise.''

O'Neal's best performance in last year's Finals - when he averaged 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds - was in Games 1, 2 and 6 when he thrice surpassed 40 points. O'Neal has surpassed 40 points again this postseason, most notably against Sacramento when he became the first player in NBA history to record consecutive 40-point, 20-rebound performances in a single playoff series.

But the scoring does not adequately depict O'Neal's contribution. He was so much more a complete player in this series, repeatedly recognizing double-team situations that left his teammates open.

``I always told my guys to let me lead the way,'' O'Neal said. ``If they don't double me, I'll score. If they do, I'll kick it back out to you guys. Trust me.''

They did and in turn repeatedly knocked down big shots from the outside - the Lakers had 36 3-pointers in this series - and that ultimately left the Sixers with no answer and no spirit.

NBA CHAMPIONS

--1946-47 - Philadelphia Warriors

--1947-48 - Baltimore Bullets

--1948-49 - Minneapolis Lakers

--1949-50 - Minneapolis Lakers

--1950-51 - Rochester Royals

--1951-52 - Minneapolis Lakers

--1952-53 - Minneapolis Lakers

--1953-54 - Minneapolis Lakers

--1954-55 - Syracuse Nationals

--1955-56 - Philadelphia Warriors

--1956-57 - Boston Celtics

--1957-58 - St. Louis Hawks

--1958-59 - Boston Celtics

--1959-60 - Boston Celtics

--1960-61 - Boston Celtics

--1961-62 - Boston Celtics

--1962-63 - Boston Celtics

--1963-64 - Boston Celtics

--1964-65 - Boston Celtics

--1965-66 - Boston Celtics

--1966-67 - Philadelphia 76ers

--1967-68 - Boston Celtics

--1968-69 - Boston Celtics

--1969-70 - New York Knicks

--1970-71 - Milwaukee Bucks

--1971-72 - Los Angeles Lakers

--1972-73 - New York Knicks

--1973-74 - Boston Celtics

--1974-75 - Golden State Warriors 

--1975-76 - Boston Celtics

--1976-77 - Portland Trail Blazers 

--1977-78 - Washington Bullets

--1978-79 - Seattle SuperSonics

--1979-80 - Los Angeles Lakers

--1980-81 - Boston Celtics

--1981-82 - Los Angeles Lakers

--1982-83 - Philadelphia 76ers

--1983-84 - Boston Celtics

--1984-85 - Los Angeles Lakers

--1985-86 - Boston Celtics

--1986-87 - Los Angeles Lakers

--1987-88 - Los Angeles Lakers

--1988-89 - Detroit Pistons

--1989-90 - Detroit Pistons

--1990-91 - Chicago Bulls

--1991-92 - Chicago Bulls

--1992-93 - Chicago Bulls

--1993-94 - Houston Rockets

--1994-95 - Houston Rockets

--1995-96 - Chicago Bulls

--1996-97 - Chicago Bulls

--1997-98 - Chicago Bulls

--1998-99 - San Antonio Spurs 

--1999-2000 - Los Angeles Lakers

--2000-2001 - Los Angeles Lakers

NBA FINALS MVPs

--1969 - Jerry West, Lakers

--1970 - Willis Reed, New York

--1971 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee

--1972 - Wilt Chamberlain, Lakers

--1973 - Willis Reed, New York

--1974 - John Havlicek, Boston

--1975 - Rick Barry, Golden State

--1976 - Jo Jo White, Boston

--1977 - Bill Walton, Portland

--1978 - Wes Unseld, Washington

--1979 - Dennis Johnson, Seattle

--1980 - Magic Johnson, Lakers

--1981 - Cedric Maxwell, Boston

--1982 - Magic Johnson, Lakers

--1983 - Moses Malone, Philadelphia

--1984 - Larry Bird, Boston

--1985 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lakers

--1986 - Larry Bird, Boston

--1987 - Magic Johnson, Lakers

--1988 - James Worthy, Lakers

--1989 - Joe Dumars, Detroit

--1990 - Isiah Thomas, Detroit

--1991 - Michael Jordan, Chicago

--1992 - Michael Jordan, Chicago

--1993 - Michael Jordan, Chicago

--1994 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

--1995 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

--1996 - Michael Jordan, Chicago

--1997 - Michael Jordan, Chicago

--1998 - Michael Jordan, Chicago

--1999 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio

--2000 - Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers

--2001 - Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers

LAKERS MVPs

Six Lakers players have been the MVP of the NBA Finals (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was honored twice, first with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971). A look:

Year Player

2001 Shaquille O'Neal

2000 Shaquille O'Neal

1987 Magic Johnson

1985 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1982 Magic Johnson

1980 Magic Johnson

1972 Wilt Chamberlain

1969 Jerry West

MULTIPLE NBA CHAMPS

Team No. Last Coach

Boston 16 1985-86 K.C. Jones

Lakers 13 2000-01 Phil Jackson

Chicago 61997-98 Phil Jackson

Phil./G.St. 3 1974-75 At Attles

Syr./Phil. 3 1982-83 Billy Cunningham

Detroit 2 1989-90 Chuck Daly

Houston 2 1994-95 Rudy Tomjanovich

New York 2 1972-73 Red Holzman

CAPTION(S):

photo, 6 boxes

Photo:

Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal, right, holds the NBA championship trophy as his father, Philip Harrison, clutches his son's MVP trophy.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Box: (1) NBA CHAMPIONS (see text)

(2) NBA FINALS MVPs (see text)

(3) LAKERS MVPs (see text)

(4) BY THE NUMBERS

(5) QUOTABLES

(6) MULTIPLE NBA CHAMPS (see text)