On June 14, 2009 the Los Angeles Lakers won their 15th NBA title. Kobe Bryant was not only named Finals MVP, but he also silenced critics who said he couldn’t win a championship without Shaquille O’ Neal.

As NBA Champions, the Lakers had a long and productive offseason. Current players pursued other interests, super stars got some rests, and the team added a high profile player.

Let’s take a look back at how the Los Lakers spent their summer vacation.

Kobe Bryant vacationed with his family in China. He became the official spokesman for the Panini Group, NBA’s exclusive trading card partner. He appeared on Entertainment Tonight, CNBC and on the cover of NBA 2K10. He was also named NBA Athlete of the Decade by the Sporting News.

After weeks of dramatic negotiations, Lamar Odom signed a four-year deal with the Lakers worth up to $33 million. He also married reality TV reality star Khloe Kardashian.

Pau Gasol led the Spanish National Team to the gold medal at Euro Basket 2009. He was named the tournament’s MVP.

Ron Artest had his reality show rejected by BET, he revealed that he didn’t know San Diego had a Major League Baseball team, and said fans can blame him if the Lakers don’t repeat.

Oh yeah, he also signed a five-year, $33 million deal with Lakers on July 8.

By the way, Artest will don the number 37 for the upcoming campaign. Why that number? It’s a tribute to Michael Jackson. His Thriller album was number one for 37 consecutive weeks.

Head coach Phil Jackson decided he could physically survive another season and an extended playoff run. On July 3rd Jackson confirmed he would return to the Lakers bench for the final year of his contract.

Derek Fisher‘s new book, Character Driven, was published.

Sasha Vujacic threw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Luke Walton went to Odom’s wedding.

Andrew Bynum worked out in Atlanta and says he’s 100% healthy.

Jordan Farnar went to Taiwan and actually spoke Chinese, “Ni hao.” He was also featured in an issue of Coco Eco Magazine, an exclusively online publication dedicated to going green.

Shannon Brown resigned with the team. His contract is for 2-years and it’s worth $4.2 million.

The Lakers won an ESPY for Best Team.

This season, the Lakers will attempt to defend their title and become the first NBA team to repeat as champions since they “three-peated” from 2000 to 2002.