June 2009

Kobe Bryant won his fourth NBA championship and first Finals MVP without Shaquille O'Neal, defeating the Orlando Magic and silencing critics who had questioned whether he could win without his former partner, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest to play.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop and one of the best-selling music artists in history, died at age 50 of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication in Los Angeles. His death triggered global mourning on a scale rarely seen for an entertainer and a reappraisal of his cultural legacy.