Debunking the "Shaq Carried Kobe" Myth: A Closer Look at Kobe's Impact in the Lakers' 3 Peat
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Kobe WAS a sidekick. A damn good one at that. He never led the Lakers in scoring until his 8th season, Shaq's last as his teammate. The first 7, Diesel carried that load while winning 3 Finals MVPs and a league MVP. Nothing to be ashamed of and no need to revise history. Had Shaq never gone to LA in free agency Kobe's career and legacy wouldntve been the same.
Shaqs legacy too. They both wouldn’t have won 3 in a row without each other
Kobe played his first eight seasons with Shaq - didn't even start the first two season - yet still finished third all-time in total points.
Pretty much every top 10 player was able to go full throttle from the very beginning of their career, and yet his career is still being compared to theirs.
Pretty much every top 10 player was able to go full throttle from the very beginning of their career, and yet his career is still being compared to theirs.
If anybody truly watched the Lakers they never spoke nonsense. Shaq COULD NOT play down the stretch of many playoff games cause of HACK-A-SHAQ. If that's carrying Kobe then.....
Go watch game 7 Lakers - Portland 2000 and trailing like 15. During the timeout Phil Jackson said, "forget about Shaq" cause they needed to stop trying to force feed him cause out west that shit wasn't working. They went on a run with about 5-6 straight 3 point plays(opportunity) and got back in the game and the only highlight they show is Kobes alley oop to Shaq.
Go watch game 7 Lakers - Portland 2000 and trailing like 15. During the timeout Phil Jackson said, "forget about Shaq" cause they needed to stop trying to force feed him cause out west that shit wasn't working. They went on a run with about 5-6 straight 3 point plays(opportunity) and got back in the game and the only highlight they show is Kobes alley oop to Shaq.
Easier to replace Kobe than Shaq on those 3-peat teams
Where you gonna find a 7 foot 270 pound agile player?
Where you gonna find a 7 foot 270 pound agile player?
eddie jones, van exel, more experienced kobe mite have been a problem if they kept that team together..triple threat would've made some noise
Man cranrab's opinion is missed.
Possibly, and so would Shaq's....
pretty muchPossibly, and so would Shaq's....
kobe played great
but there was a reason shaq was the mvp because there was literally nothing anyone in the entire nba could do with him period.
nothing.
nothing at all.
but there was a reason shaq was the mvp because there was literally nothing anyone in the entire nba could do with him period.
nothing.
nothing at all.
Dont think Dude is saying Kobe is better than Shaq, thats like comparing oranges to apples. What he is debunking is the myth the Shaq carried Kobe... Shaq doesnt win those chips without Kobe either...
This here. Most unstoppable player I've witnessed with my own 2
Nah.
Shaq allowed Kobe to do his thing
Shaq was the single most dominant force and the reason they won. He was the cake Kobe was the icing it was not equal parts.
At the time, I believe Kobe was the youngest player to ever come into the league so those 2 years weren't that big of a deal. Not knocking him at all he's a legend.
some people will say the best part of the cake is the icing or what makes the cake great is the icing
Those were years he didn't get to be productive like other players. Lebron came in at the same age. Because of dudes like Kobe and T-Mac, there wasn't a question if a non-post player could transition into the NBA. By the time Lebron came into the league, Kobe had already won three-rings, and both he and T-Mac were perennial All-Stars.
Point is, even if you remove this first few years, that is SIX seasons of having to play off of Shaq. Nobody else had to deal with that. Not a single player had to deal with it ONE season, let alone six to eight.
Actually makes sense, especially considering all the Chips Shaq won before and after playing eith Kobe...
Exactly like the one immediately after while Kobe was quitting on the lakers losing to the suns in the 1st round of the playoffs and shit.
Icing is always optional not necessary
No doubt, plus all the chips he won before Kobe... Dominant as he was. He did dominate to 13ppg in being robbed of Finals MVP by D Wade. I stand corrected.
he averaged a whopping 13 points in the finals... he missed a few key playoff games during that final run.. he truly rode wades back in that final run and finals
Poor Kobe having to deal with playing off of Shaq LMAO
the times were different he was a rookie and he earned his keep I don't hold his early numbers against him.
He did his thing. I never will say he didn't in the playoffs or the finals but they were not equally impacting players and that's no crime really
we not sitting up here talking about how Pau Gasol was equal and had just as much impact as Kobe did in those other 2 he got after shaq are we?
well this cake always needed icing in order to be consider great.. in fact he had 3 of the most dominant icing during his tenure.. penny, kobe, wade.. in order to become a winner he always needed a dominant guard with great slashing ability and penetration.. never forget that
if you're gonna question shaq's dominance it's all good.
If shaq wasn't on that team they wouldn't have won period.
Him on the court made the difference because of the attention he got instead of it being rightfully focused on wade..
wade was the mvp of the finals they don't win it without shaq.
Im not questioning anything except the not so intelligent 'logic' that Shaq carried Kobe in those Chip years...
You brought up the ONE chip Shaq won minus Kobe, I was just piggy backing on that and giving Props to Shaq on his 'dominance' in that series
LMAO
cats are in here clowning now
shaq didn't need anyone to be considered GREAT
he was great and they were great.
that's 3 different guards that he took to the finals 3 different ones with different games and he's the common denominator
get out of here..it was clear as day wade was the go to guy.. that whistle was on fire everytime he touched the ball and went to the hole..shaq was juss there
Look, there are players that didn't get as many rings as Kobe, because he got a chance to play with such a physically dominant player. That is great.
The PROBLEM is, when you start comparing him to other all-time great players, those years playing with Shaq are going to work against him, because statistics are a major part of determining who gets ranked where. For instance, Lebron James is mostly considered ahead of Kobe, yet Kobe has five titles in seven trips, and Lebron has 3 in 8. What is the difference maker? Numbers. Another part is people simply preferred Lebron's style of play to Kobe's, but the object of the game is to get the job down however you get it done.
Kobe's numbers were affected playing with Shaq.
Getting to beast up more out of necessity obviously is going to elevate his all-time status, if guys with less rings can be ranked above him, and he has great career numbers.