I‘m just curious what people thought of Kobe back then, because at that time, he was already in the league for over 10 years, was almost 30 years old and was probably the most popular and famous player in the league - but he hadn’t won any MVP or Finals MVP yet. And the Lakers were coming off of a few really bad seasons where they had first round exits or didn’t even reached the playoffs, even though those mid-2000s were supposed to be Kobe’s prime years.

Was he seen as kind of an ego/stat guy who couldn’t make his team better? A player who can’t do the job without the help of an even better player (like Shaq)? Did people expect him to never win MVP and another ring and a Finals MVP?

Was he seen as an All-Time Great yet?