Kobe got his first ring without Shaq. His legacy as one of the NBA’s all-time greatest players is secure. Even though he is the league’s most polarizing personality, he deserves a ton of credit for the way he led the Lakers this season. He deferred to his teammates time and time again, and they came through when it mattered most. This is no big deal for a lot of players, but Kobe is a different beast.

Unfortunately for the Magic, the competitiveness of these Finals is going to fade as time goes on. The Lakers’ ability to clinch in five games seems dominant on paper and people are going to forget that if not for two plays — Courtney Lee’s missed alley-oop in Game 2 and Jameer Nelson’s failure to contest Derek Fisher’s game-tying three in Game 4 — this series easily could have gone into Game 5 with the Magic leading, 3-1. But by losing tonight the way they did, most people are going to forget how evenly matched these two teams were.

Heading into the offseason, it’s going to be interesting to see what’s ahead for each of these teams. Hedo Turkoglu, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Marcin Gortat and Shannon Brown are all entering free agency. If Jerry Buss is willing to go deep into luxury tax territory, the Lakers may elect to repeat this year’s success and sign both Ariza and Odom. My guess is that they re-sign Ariza and let Odom go. As for the Magic, they sound like they’re willing to go over the luxury tax threshold to re-sign Turkoglu. Gortat is a valuable player, but since he plays behind Howard, it will be hard to justify matching a significant offer.

Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star: I’ve never been much of a Phil Jackson fan. Give me Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and I’ll fill a trophy case, too. Jackson, the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, doesn’t belong beside Red Auerbach, the most accomplished coach in NBA history. The Zen Master, as Jackson is referred, is a wonderful manager of egos and a suspect strategist, vulnerable to exposure by the game’s top tacticians such as Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich. That’s what I used to think before the current NBA finals series. I didn’t fully appreciate and/or comprehend Jackson’s brilliance. Orlando’s Stan Van Dumby has placed Jackson in proper perspective for me. So tonight, if Jackson surpasses Auerbach by securing a 10th championship, I will not offer an objection when analysts claim Jackson is Auerbach’s equal. For the first time in his career, Jackson is poised to win the title with an inferior team. I know that statement contradicts the lies you have been fed by the so-called experts who cover the NBA. But the truth is, Van Dumby has more tools in his work belt than Jackson.

Bill Plaschke, LA Times: “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Bryant said, laughing. The same questioner reminded him that it would soon be a topic. “It won’t be a topic,” Bryant said. “Won’t be an issue.” The questioner asked him to elaborate. “No,” Bryant said. “That’s exactly why it won’t be an issue.” It was my turn. I first accused Bryant of bringing up the subject, and he laughed again. “I didn’t bring it up,” he said. “I deflected.” Then I asked the only question on this subject that I figured he might answer. I asked, could you imagine playing for anyone else besides the Lakers next year? “No,” he said. Bingo. That’s enough for me, and should be enough for the Lakers. Unless Lakers officials somehow botch the negotiations for the new deal Bryant will demand after opting out of his contract — and they won’t, they love Kobe — then Bryant will be around to attempt another three-peat.

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: When a hometown writer asks if he is actually guaranteeing a victory, Howard smiles and says: “I believe we’re going back to L.A. , and you should, too. You’re from Orlando.” Honestly, I have serious doubts whether the Magic can come back and win this series, but there’s no doubting this: Whether they do or don’t, this team’s Magical mystery tour through the playoffs has been a blast and boon for Orlando. During the last couple of years as we considered whether or not to build a new arena for the team, there has been much disagreement and debate about the Magic’s value to the community. In the last few weeks, those doubts have been washed away in a wave of incredible excitement and international exposure.

Gregg Doyel, CBS Sports: Kobe’s team trumps LeBron’s team, but I knew that a month ago. Even wrote it. Because it’s not exactly rocket science. Kobe has the vastly superior supporting cast. Much as I’m turned off by Pau Gasol — I don’t like his body, I don’t like his body language, I don’t like his beard — Gasol is head and shoulders (if he had shoulders) above any of LeBron’s teammates in Cleveland. Tell me. Who is LeBron’s version of Gasol? Hell, who is LeBron’s version of Horry? These NBA Finals have shown just how much of a team game basketball is. The Lakers won Game 4 because Derek Fisher hit the two biggest shots of the night. Fisher is a tough, inspirational player, but in basketball terms he’s one-dimensional. He can shoot. That’s all he can do. And that makes him a role player, probably the sixth-best player on the Lakers. The Cavaliers have something like a Derek Fisher, too. His name is Mo Williams. Only he’s the Cavs’ second-best player. And he’s not as clutch as Derek Fisher.

Jason Whitlock, FOX Sports: Jameer Nelson had no business on the court. None. Van Gundy’s decision to bench Rafer Alston throughout the fourth quarter (and overtime) in favor of Nelson is the dumbest big-game coaching decision I’ve ever seen. Don’t be fooled by the ridiculous commentary offered by Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy during ABC’s broadcast. Nelson made two elementary passes to Howard in the fourth quarter and Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy pretended that Magic Johnson, Bob Cousy, Isiah Thomas and John Stockton had all suited up for Orlando in the fourth quarter. Jackson had the audacity to coo that Nelson was “carrying” the Magic. Nelson carried the Magic straight to hell. He missed defensive rotations. He orchestrated back-to-back horrible offensive possessions at the end of the third quarter. He failed to locate and deliver the ball to Dwight Howard in the low post. And with five seconds left in regulation, he stood foolishly underneath the three-point line and let Derek Fisher walk into a game-tying three. Stan Van Gundy needs his ass beat.

John Romano, St. Petersburg Times: Oh, technically the NBA Finals are still far from complete. Orlando still has another home game on Sunday night. And if you buy the old coaching mantra of one-game-at-a-time, you can picture a scenario where the Magic still comes away with a title. But realistically, the end is near. You could see it the moment the ball left Derek Fisher’s fingertips in the final minute of overtime on Thursday night. You could see it in the frustration of Mickael Pietrus when he whacked Pau Gasol from behind in the final seconds. You could see it on the scoreboard that betrayed an arena filled with fans after looking so friendly for most of the night. The truth is, Orlando blew its chance to be the champion of the NBA in Game 4 on Thursday night.

T.J. Simers, LA Times: We probably won’t know who has been actually coaching the Lakers this series until Phil’s next book is published. Right now the best we can do is offer congrats to Coach Phil & Coach Kobe and thanks to the Magic for playing as if it has never been coached to win a big game. The guy coaching the Magic was so outclassed against the likes of Coaches Phil & Kobe, he was playing a rusty Jameer Nelson with the game on the line. If the guy’s not coaching a YMCA team next season, he might want to instruct Nelson not to sag on a three-point shooter like Derek Fisher when leading by three. As for the Lakers, it’s very confusing at times who is in charge around here, especially the way Kobe has been playing.

Bill Plashke, LA Times: Don’t worry, after what happened Thursday night in front of a crowd that was stunned into silence, you’ll see [Derek Fisher] again. After his two jaw-flooring three-pointers led the Lakers to a 99-91 overtime victory against the Orlando Magic in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, you’ll now officially be seeing him forever. You’ll see him on the firetruck at what is almost certain to be a championship parade after the Lakers took a 3-1 lead in the series. He’ll be in the back of that truck, surrounded by a floppy hat and family, but he’ll be there. You’ll see him in constant video replays celebrating two shots that were even bigger than his famous 0.4 bucket in the 2004 conference semifinals in San Antonio. His first shot, with 4.6 seconds remaining in regulation, tied the score. His second shot, with 31.3 seconds left in overtime, essentially won the game. Only on the second shot did he crack a smile. Not once did he do a victory dance. After both shots he applauded not himself, but his teammates. Typical Fish.

Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune: While I was watching Kobe Bryant the other night, it occurred to me that, in essence, I was watching a tribute band. You probably have heard of groups that try to copy rock stars’ music, clothes and accessories, right down to the commemorative hookahs. There are, for example, faux Beatles and cloned Doors out there trying to make a living on the road. Bryant could be the best player in NBA history, but he never will be looked at that way for one simple reason. You can’t out-Michael Jordan Michael Jordan. The tribute band imagery isn’t completely fair. When he retires, Bryant will walk away as one of the five best players ever to have laced on a pair of gym shoes. He’s not a pale imitation of Jordan. He’s a phenomenal imitation of Jordan. But he’s an imitation nonetheless, a mini-Mike.

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: Are the NBA Finals officially over after the Magic’s 99-91 loss to the Lakers in Game 4 Thursday night? No, not officially. Only realistically. Remember the confetti that rained from the rafters after the victory Tuesday night in Game 3? On Thursday, the only thing that rained down was a disgusted fan who threw his beer cup toward the court as the victorious Lakers walked toward their locker room. The Magic are down 3-1, and let’s be honest. The chances of them winning three of the next three the final two in L.A. are slimmer than an L.A. supermodel.

But this one never should have gone to overtime. With a five-point lead and 0:39 to play, Rashard Lewis had a chance to push the lead to seven, but missed the 15-footer. Up three with 0:11 to play, Dwight Howard missed two free throws, either of which would have made it a two possession game. On the ensuing inbounds play, Jameer Nelson ponderously laid off of Derek Fisher who pulled up and hit the game-tying three. I don’t know if Stan Van Gundy had the foul on there, but at the very least Nelson should have been crowding Fisher to force the drive.

The Magic really lost this game at the start of the third quarter. Their 12-point halftime lead was gone within six minutes, and they didn’t even force the Lakers to expend a lot of energy to cut into the lead. Trevor Ariza led the charge with 11 quick points in the first half of the quarter.

Van Gundy will look at the box score and scratch his head. The Magic had 17 turnovers, and most of those were in the first half. Had they took care of the ball, they probably would have pushed the lead to 20. Orlando also missed 13 free throws, eight from Howard, who was just 6 of 14 from the line.

Bryant finished with 32 points, eight assists and seven boards, and had a good all-around game even though he didn’t shoot the ball well. Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza pitched in with 16 apiece.

Hedo Turkoglu played a great game, posting 23 points, three assists and five boards. He put the Magic in a position to win, but his teammates couldn’t seal the deal. Turkoglu isn’t infallible, however. He did miss three free throws down the stretch. Howard posted 16 points, 21 rebounds and nine blocks, but he turned over the ball seven times. Outside of a tough three to give Orlando the lead in OT, Lewis was a no-show. He went 2 for 10 for six points. Mickael Pietrus once again played great off the bench, scoring 15 points and making life tough for Kobe.

For all intents and purposes, this series is over. The odds of the Magic winning three straight games (two in L.A.) are very, very long. After the tough loss in Game 2, they had to win all three games in Orlando to have a realistic shot at upsetting the Lakers.

I know there are a lot of people out there that aren’t very happy to see Kobe win another ring (and I’m one of them). But you have to give him credit for maturing enough to trust his teammates. He gave the ball up in a couple of key situations and they both led to Fisher threes.

It’s not quite over, but the Laker fans have reason to celebrate. Heck, most of them started planning the parade when L.A. won Game 2.

Think about it…Pau Gasol is averaging 18.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and is shooting a scintillating 58.1% from the field. One of the best gauges of overall offensive efficiency is points per shot (PPS), which is simply the total points scored divided by the number of field goal attempts. Gasol’s PPS is 1.54, which is outstanding.

Then you have Kobe. Sure, he’s averaging 30.1 points, but he has to shoot almost 23 shots per game to get those points. (He’s also averaging 5.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds.) His PPS is 1.33, which is still good, but is almost 14% less than Gasol’s.

Kobe is so determined to win a title this season for one reason — he wants to dispel the notion that he can only win a championship as Shaq’s sidekick. If the Lakers do manage to eliminate the Magic and Kobe does indeed get his fourth ring, he will have accomplished this feat…as Pau Gasol’s sidekick.

Now before any Kobe apologists start pounding furiously at their keyboards, I don’t actually believe this to be true. Kobe is the better player, but these numbers beg the question — why aren’t the Lakers using Gasol more?

Against the Magic, Gasol has made 23 of his 37 field goal attempts (62%). Against the Nuggets, he shot 63% from the field. The Spaniard is on such a roll right now that the Lakers should be feeding him the ball until the Magic find a way to stop him. Anytime Andrew Bynum is in the game, Rashard Lewis has to cover Gasol, and he’s no match for Pau in the post. Heck, even when Bynum goes to the bench, Gasol is scoring at will on Dwight Howard, the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. Gasol was 9 of 11 from the field in Game 3, yet it was Kobe who took the most shots (11 of 25, 44%), even when he was clearly struggling down the stretch.

Mark my words, if Gasol keeps this production up and the Lakers go on to lose this series, it will be because Kobe took too many shots.

Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: Orlando shot the hell out of the ball. The Lakers made a ton of mistakes on the defensive end of the court, but Orlando had just as big a role, if not much bigger, in tossing in 108 points in a slow game. The ball movement wasn’t perfect, but it was done quickly, and the shots were falling even as the Magic (supposedly) bucked NBA tradition by going from the outside-in. The ball was moving, and the spacing was there. Yes, the screen and roll attack bogged down a bit in the third and part of the fourth quarter as the team’s legs left them and Hedo Turkoglu made some questionable decisions, but by and large the Magic built their offensive juggernaut with quick flashes to the ball that were met by a pass. Credit Stan Van Gundy’s play calling. Early in the first quarter, he set his shakier-types up for quick looks that they couldn’t think too long about. Rashard Lewis’ first two buckets were quick flashes to the post for a turnaround jumper. Rafer Alston’s first attempts (and makes) were on guard-around screens that Derek Fisher went under. All four shots left no room for contemplation. All four shots went in.

Jeff Miller of the OC Register: Kobe Bryant, so often the inhuman highlight film, was oh so human Tuesday, the game’s No. 1 closer this time the victim of someone else’s walk-off dramatics. “You know,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said after a 108-104 loss to the Magic, “we’re all frail as humans.” All it means for now is The Finals will be going at least five games. Ultimately, that might be it, nothing more than a blip on the way to the top. But if the Magic can continue badgering Bryant and he keeps huffing down the stretch and Orlando is making its shots … there’s still a chance this matchup could become quite interesting. See, even Bryant, who has carried this team – this franchise, actually – for so long now, is still subject to the most basic of man’s needs. Specifically, we’re talking here about oxygen.

John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times: The Magic is like a small-college team with a rumpled coach and an antiquated arena, and I mean that in the best way possible. Orlando reminds us what is possible when a group of guys are willing to share both a ball and a dream. There are times when we take that for granted in the NBA. When we get caught up in LeBron’s hype or Kobe’s legacy, and forget that basketball is a game best played by a group that understands harmony.

Mark Heisler of the LA Times: The Lakers wish the Magic just knocked down a lot of bad shots on a hot night. Actually, Van Gundy and his players have figured out how to run an offense, after Phil Jackson and the Lakers took Dwight Howard away from them. Now, the Magic players wait for the Lakers to jump on Howard in the post, or on pick-and-rolls, and throw the ball to whomever they leave.

Mike Wise of the Washington Post: Twenty years in the making, Kobe had to inexplicably lose his dribble and the basketball in the final minute, a sight akin to watching Mariano Rivera blow a save or Tiger Woods double-bogey a playoff hole. Even after a plethora of misses by the Lakers from the three-point line, the outcome wasn’t certain. Confetti was already coming down when the public-address announcer at Amway Arena intoned, “The play is under review.” How apropos, no? This wasn’t as bad as Tracy McGrady proclaiming a playoff-series victory that never happened in Orlando. But when 0.2 of a second was put on the clock they had to wonder in this town if the wait would ever end. Twenty years or two-tenths of a second, seems like the Magic was always on hold, listening for the horn to blare so that a single, precious game in the NBA Finals could be theirs.

George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: We’re talking salary-cap restrictions. We could very well be seeing the last of Hedo Turkoglu or Marcin Gortat in a Magic uniform. Maybe both of them. Turkoglu is expected to opt out of his contract and become a free agent after Orlando’s run in the Finals. That would mark the end of his six-year, $39-million deal with the Magic. He’d be foolish to play out his final season and settle for $7.3 million. I know. It’s all Monopoly money to me, too, but it’s the market value, people. Don’t you wish you were taller? Hedo has certainly come up big for the Magic, despite the predictable moment in every game when he’ll bounce a pass off somebody’s head in Section 108. It’s part of the Hedo Vibe, mostly groovy with moments of temporary insanity. But Hedo’s got enough leverage to earn himself a bigger paycheck elsewhere. He can shoot, dribble, drive, score, pass. He has played every position except center in his career. He had another strong game Tuesday night, with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists. That’s a lot of leverage.

The Magic shot a Finals-record 62.5% from the field, but amazingly enough, they only won by four, 108-104. Still, a win is a win and the Magic have to feel good about how they played in Game 3.

Orlando had five players score 18-plus points: Dwight Howard (21 points, 14 rebounds), Rashard Lewis (21), Rafer Alston (20), Hedo Turkoglu (18) and Mickael Pietrus (18). Pietrus gave the Magic a big lift in the fourth quarter with a terrific follow-up dunk (that was actually a goaltend) and a key steal with less than 0:30 to play and the Magic nursing a two-point lead.

Orlando really moved the ball well and was able to get good shot after good shot, save for a stretch in the fourth quarter where the Lakers erased the Magic’s nine-point lead.

Kobe Bryant was as hot as a pistol in the first half, scoring 21 points in the first two periods, but he really struggled down the stretch. He was just 4 of 9 from the free throw line and turned the ball over four times. He finished with 31 points, eight assists and five boards. Pau Gasol chipped in with 23 points on 9-11 shooting. He is in such a groove in the post and the Lakers aren’t going to him enough.

The Magic are still very much in this series. They need to take this one game at a time and not think about the daunting task of winning three games in a row at home. They’ve already proven they can outplay the Lakers in Los Angeles, so if they can get two more wins in Orlando, the series will be very interesting. If the Lakers come back to L.A. up 3-2, the series is all but over.