The 2007-08 Los Angeles Lakers are being touted as one of the best teams Kobe Bryant has every played on. That’s high praise, and that’s why the Lakers were 5-8 at press time to win the NBA championship.

Before the start of the Western Conference finals between Los Angeles and the San Antonio Spurs, Charles Barkley called the Lakers Kobe’s best-ever team. John Hollinger crunched the numbers for ESPN and came to much the same conclusion.

If the Lakers go on to win the title, it will be a moment of redemption for GM Mitch Kupchak. Fans weren’t pleased when Kupchak traded Shaquille O’Neal; the merits of that deal will be debated for some time, but there can be no doubt that the Pau Gasol trade has lifted the Lakers from very good to great. The question for handicappers is whether L.A. is great enough to win the title without home-court advantage.

The NBA Finals are finally here.