Kobe Bryant's sweet victory

Kobe Bryant hailed it as his sweetest triumph after leading the Los Angles Lakers to the NBA Championship with an 83-79 win over their fierce rivals the Boston Celtics.

Last night's victory in game seven of the series at the Staples Center gave the Lakers a 16th championship and a record 11th for coach Phil Jackson as they also became the first team to retain the title since winning three in a row from 2000.

This was the fifth championship for Bryant and he said: "This one is by far the sweetest because it's against the Celtics and it's the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad . . . and sometimes you want something so bad it slips away from you."

The guard was named most valuable player at the finals for the second year in a row.

Bryant and his team-mates will take on Minnesota Timberwolves in a preseason game at London's O2 Arena on 4 October.