Obviously, Kobe did a gigantic heavy-lifting alongside Shaq after 1999-00 season. Kobe was a top 3 player in NBA and the Kobe-Shaq relationship was more like a 1a and 1b situation. They were almost on equal footing.
Having that said, is narrative of “Kobe Bryant was carried by MVP Shaq” still true even almost 25 years later. MVP Shaq almost single-handedly brought Lakers’ 1st Championship for years and should’ve got a uanimous MVP. The likes of Ray Allen, Vince Carter, T-Mac, Michael Redd, Allen Iverson etc. could’ve replaces Kobe that season and Lakers probably would still have won 2000 NBA Championship because of Shaq’s dominance.
Shaq 1999-00 showed up at summer camp with a six pack. He chose to be fit for a season to prove something (I think to Phil probably). Had Shaq kept that weight (~145kg) for the rest of his career he’d be in GOAT talks, (not centers, players).
I wouldn’t call it “carrying”, but that year Shaq was just unstoppable and had a bigger impact in games than Kobe.