Webber's Sacramento Kings have been superb this year

But this year, another team has a chance to join the ranks of the NBA's all-time greatest teams and truly earn the label that all sides strive for - dynasty.

The Los Angeles Lakers enter the NBA play-offs as the two-time defending NBA champion, with their sights set directly on the three-peat.

There has been a lot of talk about the Lakers often-mediocre play throughout the regular season - they finished third in the Western Conference behind Sacramento and San Antonio.

But they finished the year playing their best basketball of the season, winners of 15 straight on their home court.

And keep in mind, the Lakers' 58-24 record this season is two games better than last year, when they blew away the play-off competition, losing only one post-season game.

The cast of characters is the same in Los Angeles.

Coach Phil Jackson exudes calm and confidence from the Lakers' bench, Kobe Bryant is as unguardable as ever, and centre Shaquille O'Neal is a question to which no team has an answer, simply the best player in the league.

David Robinson's Spurs have play-off experience

If any team has a chance to topple the Lakers from their perch, it will have to come from the West.

Rarely has the NBA seen such disparity between the conferences as was on display this season, with the four best teams in the league all residing in the Western Conference.

The Sacramento Kings had a superb regular season, rolling to the NBA's best regular season record, 61-21.

Chris Webber and his Kings teammates will be seeking to avenge last year's humiliating 4-0 play-off loss to the Lakers.

The Kings have the benefit of home court advantage in the post-season, and they will need all the help they can get against the Los Angeles juggernaut.

With their terrific centre duo of Tim Duncan and David Robinson, the San Antonio Spurs would appear to have the best hope of defeating the Lakers.

No team in the NBA is better equipped to deal with O'Neal, but as indicated by their listless play in losing to the Lakers in last year's play-offs, the Spurs seem to wilt when facing Los Angeles.

Jason Kidd could be the league MVP

The Dallas Mavericks are one of the NBA's most entertaining teams, with a fast-paced, high-scoring style of play, but that style rarely translates well to the post-season.

The Mavericks' possible second-round meeting with the Kings could be the best series of this year's play-offs, but a trip deep into the post-season is unlikely for the Mavs.

The New Jersey Nets were the surprise of the NBA regular season, as they not only reached their first post-season in four years, but earned the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.

Point guard Jason Kidd is a leading candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player award and will be the key to the Nets' quest to reach their first NBA Finals in team history.

One of the NBA's great old-time rivalries is renewed in the first round of the playoffs when the Philadelphia 76ers face the Boston Celtics.

Although neither team has anywhere near the class they showed in previous decades, the winner of this series should give the Nets their toughest opponent of the Eastern play-offs.

Be it the Nets, 76ers, or Celtics, however, the winner of the East will likely be little more than a bump in the Lakers' road to their third consecutive championship.

The Lakers may have stumbled a bit on their way to the post-season, but now that they are there, look for a smooth ride to the Finals, and a three-peat for Los Angeles.