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.
Was Shaq the best player on the team in 99-00? Absolutely. No doubt.
I wouldn’t define it as a carry job. This wasn’t Duncan in 03 or Hakeem in 94. Either of those guys would have killed for 21 year old Kobe. The only guards you could argue were better than Kobe in that year were Gary Payton and Jason Kidd. And I’d take Kobe over Kidd as a secondary scorer. Kobe was one of the 10 best players in the league that year. The only better two way players were Garnett, Duncan, and Payton.
Kobe was 22.5/6.3/4.9/2.5 stocks during the regular season. (Good for 12th in the league in PPG). Before he got injured in the Finals, he was 22.8/4.4/4.5/3.1 stocks in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs.
Could you take Allen, Carter, T-Mac, Redd, AI and still win with that year of Shaq? Possibly. But none of those players were the two-way perimeter player that Kobe was, and none of them were better than Kobe that year anyway. Keep in mind, the Lakers were taken to Game 5 in Round one, and Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals. I don’t see those players making the Lakers better.
Agreed. Shaq carried
Shaq was clearly better but Kobe was always good. I’m trying to think of a good comparison, best I can think of is Jokic/Murray. But Kobe was better then Murray and Shaq was better then Jokic.
Kobe wasn’t a Top 3 player until 2005. It wasn’t a 1a/1b situation in that 3-peat. Everyone knew it was Shaq’s team.
Kobe was nowhere near Shaq in at anytime during their 3-peat. The 1A 1B narrative is just insane meat riders.
99-00 Kobe/Shaq is basically what Murray/Jokic was last postseason.
Kobe/Murray were clearly performing at a star level, but Shaq/Jokic were just overwhelmingly dominant.
00-02 Kobe/Shaq was more like Lebron + Wade/AD.
In that finals shaq averaged 38 ppg on 61% shooting lolol. Adjust for pace and i bet those numbers are mind-boggling today.
It was mind boggling then it will be otherworldly today
Yeah shaq dominated the finals. But kobe dominated up until the finals. He outperformed shaq in loads of series
Sacramento:
Shaq: 29 ppg, 17 rbs, 54% shooting
Kobe: 28 ppg 49% shooting
Phoenix
Shaq: 30 ppg, 16 rbs, 56% shooting
Kobe: 21 ppg, 45% shooting
Portland:
Shaq: 26 ppg on 54% shooting, 12 rbs
Kobe: 20 ppg on 43% shooting.
So which series did kobe outperform shaq in?
Shaq carried a lot and then the refs carried them in 2002.
Shaq carried a lot and then the refs carried them in 2002.
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.
Yes Shaq carried the whole 3 peat. He was the main guy which is why Kobe wanted his own team
He did not carry lmfao. Kobe averaged 30 up until the finals excluding 00 with elite defense. That is not being carridd
For 2000, it was a clear sidekick job by Kobe.
However in 2001 and 2002, it was a clear 1a and 1b. Kobe carried in some series. IK this sub is shocked to find out there are other series outside of the finals, but look up the stats. Kobe outperformed Shaq in lots of series.
All the way through carried. We saw what Kobe did w/o Shaq: nothin. He got a Superteam won two more times, and w/o. Superteam never came close the competing again