Crazy how the media makes it look like Kobe was heavily carried by Shaq. I view these 2 as the best 1-2 punch. And personally, they were more like Superman-Batman than Batman-Robin.
Crazy how the media makes it look like Kobe was heavily carried by Shaq. I view these 2 as the best 1-2 punch. And personally, they were more like Superman-Batman than Batman-Robin.
those home road splits! Playing on the road did not faze Kobe at all, something nobody really talks about. You could not rattle him, ever!
adonisgawd
Kobe and Shaq carried the lakers throughout the western conference playoffs but Shaq would go nuclear in the finals. Kobe still carried his weight but Shaq was just other worldly going against the BBQ chicken bigs back in the day.
LeagueReddit00
Kobe was **THE** guy in the West and then Shaq would murk in the Finals.
dmac943
Because too be fair, this is a cherry picked small stretch that everyone agrees was Kobe’s best as #8. Shaq’s stats in the Finals are well known to be night and day with Kobe’s. Plus when you look at the advanced stats from the whole playoffs, the gap is clear.
2000-2002 Full threepeat stats:
Shaq 30 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 3 APG, 2.5 BPG
Kobe 25 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG, 1.5 SPG
PER: Shaq 29.3, Kobe 21.3
eFG%: Shaq .552, Kobe .470
BPM: Shaq +7.5, Kobe +4.9
Shaq was Superman at the time, the entire landscape of the league was designed around slowing him down. That version of Kobe was one of the great second fiddles ever, but he wasn’t truly Batman level til that 2007-2010 stretch.
davensdad
Damn retarded how Shaq won all 3 Finals MVP because East was shit back then. Kob carried through the difficult West and didnt get the recognition
jvu87
Kobe on the road was a different animal. He fed off all of that hate and vitriol only the Mamba could.
KyrieWetUpCurry_
Do people really think a 22 year old Kobe was on the level of *peak 3 Peat Shaq*? We all love Kobe and he wasn’t a sidekick but Shaq was on another level.
aquilles10
I love the Kobe with the fro era. He was so swaggy.
KokeyManiago
Perfect 1A and 1B
Beautiful-History-33
Superman would kick Batman’ ass in a heartbeat tho
saquonbrady
It just shows you how DOMINANT shaq was that he was able to kind of diminish Kobe’s insane play with his own. You stick this Kobe on any other team, and you would see he was a top 5 player in the league at the time.
[deleted]
[deleted]
TrickPerformance4433
He got to benefit from Shaq being doubled and tripled… he was balling tho but Shaq was just another type of monster then
corybekem
No one got carried they just took what the defense gave them. If the teams were doubling Shaq or hacking him in the post then you let Kobe deal with the single coverage. If they dared to shift the gravity to Kobe and leave Shaq on his own island then it was BBQ for dinner. Kobe being the 3-Level scorer meant that most teams would prioritize keeping the ball out of his hands and Shaq would have to control the Offense, Pace, and be the primary decision maker out of the post which naturally made him the leader and the “Batman” in the eyes of the media.
Tkainzero
Shaq was the most dominate player of all time. (outside of Wilt)
Kobe was the best player of all time (outside of MJ)
redoblivion23
Some people misunderstood my point. I did not mean to say one was carried by the other. That’s why I said the media and why I referred to them as Superman-Batman. Point is while Shaq was on another planet at that time, the media should’ve gave more credit to Kob cause he stepped up when Shaq was double/triple teamed.
Zookeepergame-Warm
And this was in a time in the league where they went from iso defense to zones. Phil jackson def masterminded the scheme but shaq & kobe were unstoppable. They 3peated from 2000-2002. LAST team to 3peat to date
People seem to ignore a few key things when they talk about how Shaq carried Kobe.
Shaq was a terrible FT shooter and a liability much of the time in the 4th quarter – there’s a reason the hack-a-Shaq was a thing. Shaq would boss the first 3 quarters but Kobe would take over in the end.
Shaq was hard to officiate and would have to sit due to foul trouble fairly frequently. That was big reason why Shaq’s numbers were lower on the road where the home team would get more calls, like vs the Kings in 2002.
Shaq was dominant when he came to LA but didn’t win anything until Kobe came of age (which also coincided with PJ being hired).
Shaq faced terrible centers in the Finals which assured him of winning the Finals MVP. However Kobe carried a much heavier load in the Western Conference playoffs against teams such as the Spurs. Check out Kobe’s stats for the 2001 series vs the Spurs, who were a dominant defensive team that Kobe annihilated. I used to say that the fans who best understood Kobe’s contribution to the Lakers were Spurs fans.
Kobe had a bigger role in the offense as a primary ball handler who would set things up and run the offense. This led to PJ saying in the 2001 playoffs that Kobe was playing the “best that I’ve ever seen a player of mine play with an overall court game…Kobe has to set up the offense, to advance the ball, to read the defense, to make other players happy, and he’s doing a great job of that.” Phil said he was asking Kobe to do more on offense than he ever asked of Jordan.
Shaq and Kobe needed each other and were the perfect complement on the court. Unfortunately all the off the court stuff ruined it.
Vegasguy3124
TroubledMang
Did you watch them play or you reading stats? Shaq couldnt be guarded one on one. He was the most dominant player in the game. He was definitely Batman, and it took Kobe a while to somewhat become his equal. Those double teams, and all the focus on him, made things easier for everyone else including Kobe. Shaq was fouled constantly, but they only called the obvious ones, and let a lot slide due to his size.
Shaq was simply the most dominant player in the game. No way to stop him if he was engaged. Only person who stopped Shaq was Shaq. Kobe was great, but even he was 2nd to MJ. Shaq was 2nd to none at his peak which included the 3 peat.
aryusuf
Every Laker fan knows Kobe and Shaq were 1A-1B. Greatest duo in NBA history.
It’s always interesting how Laker haters try to pretend Kobe was a sidekick. In 2000 shaq was the man, but if we look at it from a nuanced standpoint, Kobe was extremely young and coming into his own while shaq was in his prime. Not to mention Kobe got injured in the 2000 finals which hampered his counting stats. But it didn’t matter since we already beat the west teams, east was easy that year. And then after 2000, Kobe grew into his own and became tied with Shaq as our most important/best player
explicitreasons
I was a Lakers hater in this era and was livid when they beat the Kings in the playoffs. If the Lakers had Ray Allen, Vince Carter or Paul Pierce with Shaq, they would have won just as many titles. Shaq was unique.
audioninja
I would say Shaq let Kobe do the work up until the finals, then Shaq would dominate the finals with max effort and claim the MVP. Kobe did will the Lakers to victories a lot in the playoffs tho. Such a luxury to have two franchise players on one team
Sweetcheels69
And when Shaq got in foul trouble. Kobe was there to pick up the pieces. Often
mavric22
Eyeball test at the time. Kobe was great. Shaq was unstoppable.
CovfefeDotard
Kobe’s average during the finals that year
Big0009
They both needed each other end of discussion
BernardoDeGalvez
Only can be argued Kobe was kinda carried in the finals of the first ring together because Shaq was like 38/16 and Kobe 15/5 with below average %
29 Comments
those home road splits! Playing on the road did not faze Kobe at all, something nobody really talks about. You could not rattle him, ever!
Kobe and Shaq carried the lakers throughout the western conference playoffs but Shaq would go nuclear in the finals. Kobe still carried his weight but Shaq was just other worldly going against the BBQ chicken bigs back in the day.
Kobe was **THE** guy in the West and then Shaq would murk in the Finals.
Because too be fair, this is a cherry picked small stretch that everyone agrees was Kobe’s best as #8. Shaq’s stats in the Finals are well known to be night and day with Kobe’s. Plus when you look at the advanced stats from the whole playoffs, the gap is clear.
2000-2002 Full threepeat stats:
Shaq 30 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 3 APG, 2.5 BPG
Kobe 25 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG, 1.5 SPG
PER: Shaq 29.3, Kobe 21.3
eFG%: Shaq .552, Kobe .470
BPM: Shaq +7.5, Kobe +4.9
Shaq was Superman at the time, the entire landscape of the league was designed around slowing him down. That version of Kobe was one of the great second fiddles ever, but he wasn’t truly Batman level til that 2007-2010 stretch.
Damn retarded how Shaq won all 3 Finals MVP because East was shit back then. Kob carried through the difficult West and didnt get the recognition
Kobe on the road was a different animal. He fed off all of that hate and vitriol only the Mamba could.
Do people really think a 22 year old Kobe was on the level of *peak 3 Peat Shaq*? We all love Kobe and he wasn’t a sidekick but Shaq was on another level.
I love the Kobe with the fro era. He was so swaggy.
Perfect 1A and 1B
Superman would kick Batman’ ass in a heartbeat tho
It just shows you how DOMINANT shaq was that he was able to kind of diminish Kobe’s insane play with his own. You stick this Kobe on any other team, and you would see he was a top 5 player in the league at the time.
[deleted]
He got to benefit from Shaq being doubled and tripled… he was balling tho but Shaq was just another type of monster then
No one got carried they just took what the defense gave them. If the teams were doubling Shaq or hacking him in the post then you let Kobe deal with the single coverage. If they dared to shift the gravity to Kobe and leave Shaq on his own island then it was BBQ for dinner. Kobe being the 3-Level scorer meant that most teams would prioritize keeping the ball out of his hands and Shaq would have to control the Offense, Pace, and be the primary decision maker out of the post which naturally made him the leader and the “Batman” in the eyes of the media.
Shaq was the most dominate player of all time. (outside of Wilt)
Kobe was the best player of all time (outside of MJ)
Some people misunderstood my point. I did not mean to say one was carried by the other. That’s why I said the media and why I referred to them as Superman-Batman. Point is while Shaq was on another planet at that time, the media should’ve gave more credit to Kob cause he stepped up when Shaq was double/triple teamed.
And this was in a time in the league where they went from iso defense to zones. Phil jackson def masterminded the scheme but shaq & kobe were unstoppable. They 3peated from 2000-2002. LAST team to 3peat to date
This post reminds me of the MadTv sketch [Shaq & the Super Lakers](https://youtu.be/Z4RH2DBb8T4)
People seem to ignore a few key things when they talk about how Shaq carried Kobe.
Shaq was a terrible FT shooter and a liability much of the time in the 4th quarter – there’s a reason the hack-a-Shaq was a thing. Shaq would boss the first 3 quarters but Kobe would take over in the end.
Shaq was hard to officiate and would have to sit due to foul trouble fairly frequently. That was big reason why Shaq’s numbers were lower on the road where the home team would get more calls, like vs the Kings in 2002.
Shaq was dominant when he came to LA but didn’t win anything until Kobe came of age (which also coincided with PJ being hired).
Shaq faced terrible centers in the Finals which assured him of winning the Finals MVP. However Kobe carried a much heavier load in the Western Conference playoffs against teams such as the Spurs. Check out Kobe’s stats for the 2001 series vs the Spurs, who were a dominant defensive team that Kobe annihilated. I used to say that the fans who best understood Kobe’s contribution to the Lakers were Spurs fans.
Kobe had a bigger role in the offense as a primary ball handler who would set things up and run the offense. This led to PJ saying in the 2001 playoffs that Kobe was playing the “best that I’ve ever seen a player of mine play with an overall court game…Kobe has to set up the offense, to advance the ball, to read the defense, to make other players happy, and he’s doing a great job of that.” Phil said he was asking Kobe to do more on offense than he ever asked of Jordan.
Shaq and Kobe needed each other and were the perfect complement on the court. Unfortunately all the off the court stuff ruined it.
Did you watch them play or you reading stats? Shaq couldnt be guarded one on one. He was the most dominant player in the game. He was definitely Batman, and it took Kobe a while to somewhat become his equal. Those double teams, and all the focus on him, made things easier for everyone else including Kobe. Shaq was fouled constantly, but they only called the obvious ones, and let a lot slide due to his size.
Shaq was simply the most dominant player in the game. No way to stop him if he was engaged. Only person who stopped Shaq was Shaq. Kobe was great, but even he was 2nd to MJ. Shaq was 2nd to none at his peak which included the 3 peat.
Every Laker fan knows Kobe and Shaq were 1A-1B. Greatest duo in NBA history.
It’s always interesting how Laker haters try to pretend Kobe was a sidekick. In 2000 shaq was the man, but if we look at it from a nuanced standpoint, Kobe was extremely young and coming into his own while shaq was in his prime. Not to mention Kobe got injured in the 2000 finals which hampered his counting stats. But it didn’t matter since we already beat the west teams, east was easy that year. And then after 2000, Kobe grew into his own and became tied with Shaq as our most important/best player
I was a Lakers hater in this era and was livid when they beat the Kings in the playoffs. If the Lakers had Ray Allen, Vince Carter or Paul Pierce with Shaq, they would have won just as many titles. Shaq was unique.
I would say Shaq let Kobe do the work up until the finals, then Shaq would dominate the finals with max effort and claim the MVP. Kobe did will the Lakers to victories a lot in the playoffs tho. Such a luxury to have two franchise players on one team
And when Shaq got in foul trouble. Kobe was there to pick up the pieces. Often
Eyeball test at the time. Kobe was great. Shaq was unstoppable.
Kobe’s average during the finals that year
They both needed each other end of discussion
Only can be argued Kobe was kinda carried in the finals of the first ring together because Shaq was like 38/16 and Kobe 15/5 with below average %