NO DYNASTY, STILL SPECIAL.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

In the 14th century, a former Buddhist monk named Zhu Yuanzhang led a rebel army against Mongol domination and prevailed in a protracted war bearing some resemblance in mood to the Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings conference-final series of 2002. As pro basketball did not yet exist, Zhu Yuanzhang and his dozen or so successors to the throne of the Ming Dynasty had to settle for ruling China for 276 years, piling up honors for their achievements in the areas of slavery abolition, sea exploration and Great Wall-building.

That, folks, was a dynasty - as my dictionary puts it, ``a family or group that maintains power or position for several generations.''

There have been dynasties in professional sports.

The New York Yankees have been a dynasty more than once, most persistently in the period from 1936 to '64, when they won 16 World Series and 22 pennants. The Yankees kept winning as Hall of Famers came and went. In 1936, it was Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Lefty Grove and Red Ruffing playing for manager Joe McCarthy. By the 1950s, it was Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford playing for Casey Stengel. By the end it was Elston Howard, Roger Maris and Jim Bouton playing for manager Yogi Berra. Power for generations.

The Green Bay Packers were a dynasty in the 1960s, going 5-1 in NFL championship games. The Packers kept winning as the backfield completely turned over. In 1960, it was Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor running the team's trademark sweep behind a line centered by Jim Ringo. By '67, it was Donny Anderson and Jim Grabowski and Ken Bowman snapping the ball. Power for generations.

The Boston Celtics were a dynasty in the 1950s and '60s, pulling down 11 NBA titles, eight in a row. The Celtics kept winning as the starting five completely turned over. At the beginning, it was Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn and Frank Ramsey getting the big minutes and points for coach Red Auerbach. At the end, it was John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Don Nelson, Bailey Howell and Larry Siegfried for player-coach Bill Russell. Power for generations.

In sports, generations come and go as fast as fall leaves.

It says here, in answer to the frequently asked question, that the Lakers of Phil Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are not a dynasty, not yet and not even if they do the expected and win a fourth consecutive NBA championship in the season that begins tonight against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center.

Here's the point: What the Lakers are is something just as admirable, something worth celebrating, something to appreciate for as long as it's happening.

They are a team that has won three championships with essentially the same core group of players, the same familiar characters, talented and tough and fan-friendly: It's not just O'Neal and Bryant, but also Derek Fisher, a sometimes-starter in place of 35-year-old Ron Harper in the backcourt in the first ring year of 1999-2000 and the heart-and-soul point guard now, and Rick Fox, a big-minutes sixth man in 1999-2000 and the blood-and-guts small forward now, and Robert Horry and Brian Shaw, blooming again every spring.

Harper and Glen Rice are gone from that first season, the power-forward revolving door has spun several times, but in the way the mind blends seasons together, it's familiar faces playing a familiar game.

It's rare, it's nice and why should the Lakers mess with a successful combination anyway?

Some year, the Lakers will get to go for ``dynasty'' status, when they have to try to keep winning after replacing Phil, Shaq or Kobe, or after Devean George has pushed Fox out of a job, or after Horry and Shaw can't go any more.

The Chicago Bulls weren't a dynasty in their first three-title run, 1991-93. Jackson played with a core of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright and John Paxson-slash-B.J. Anderson. By the time Jordan ended his two-year retirement in 1996 to begin the Bulls' second three-peat, it was Steve Kerr in place of Anderson, Toni Kukoc in place of Cartwright and Luc Longley instead of Grant. And by the end of the run, it was Harper in place of Kerr. A 60 percent turnover around Michael and Scottie.

Again, with the Lakers, the point isn't to go over the old debate about ``are they a dynasty?'' It's to say it's all right not to have a dynasty. For one thing, Los Angeles doesn't need a Great Wall.

A dynasty? What the Lakers have right now is just as special.

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The Lakers won their third consecutive NBA title last year and are going for No. 4 this season. Does that mean this is a dynasty? Not necessarily.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer