Originally Posted by
Mamba MVP
We all know Shaq was dominant and in his prime during the 3-peat era and no one could stop him. But even then at ages 21, 22, and 23, KB8 was just starting to become that dominant force he is today. Kobe was as essential to LA's title runs as Shaq was they needed each other. Even as the "sidekick" Kobe was able to hold his own on the same floor as the beast known as Shaquille O'Neal. Everyone assumes that since he got the Finals MVPs that it was all Shaq all the time, but if you watched the regular season during that time and the West playoffs leading up to the Finals, you would have seen that they were playing at very similar levels.
Take a look at the numbers (I couldn't get the 1999-2000 ones to show up properly, but you'll get the idea)
2000-2001:
Regular Season
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Player | G | Pts | Min | % FG | % 3pt | % FT | Reb | As |
Shaquille O'Neal | 74 | 28.7 | 39.5 | 57.2 | 0.0 | 51.3 | 12.7 | 3.7 |
Kobe Bryant | 68 | 28.5 | 40.9 | 46.4 | 30.5 | 85.3 | 5.9 | 5.0 |
Playoffs
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Player | G | Pts | Min | % FG | % 3pt | % FT | Reb | As |
Shaquille O'Neal | 16 | 30.4 | 42.3 | 55.5 | 0.0 | 52.5 | 15.4 | 3.2 |
Kobe Bryant | 16 | 29.4 | 43.4 | 46.9 | 32.4 | 82.1 | 7.3 | 6.1 |
Finals against Philadelphia
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Player | PJ | Pts | Min | % FG | % 3pt | % FT | Reb | As |
Shaquille O'Neal | 5 | 33.0 | 45.0 | 57.3 | 0.0 | 51.3 | 15.8 | 4.8 |
Kobe Bryant | 5 | 24.6 | 46.8 | 41.5 | 33.3 | 84.2 | 7.8 | 5.8 |
2001-2002:
2002 Regular Season Statistics | | | | | | | | | | |
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Player
| G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | TOT | APG | PPG |
Shaquille O'Neal
| 67 | 66 | 36.1 | .579 | .000 | .555 | 3.50 | 10.70 | 3.0 | 27.2 |
Kobe Bryant
| 80 | 80 | 38.3 | .469 | .250 | .829 | 1.40 | 5.50 | 5.5 | 25.2 |
2002 Lakers Playoffs Statistics
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Rebounds
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Player
| G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | TOT | APG | PPG |
Shaquille O'Neal
| 19 | 19 | 40.8 | .529 | .000 | .649 | 3.50 | 12.60 | 2.8 | 28.5 |
Kobe Bryant
| 19 | 19 | 43.8 | .434 | .379 | .759 | 1.50 | 5.80 | 4.6 | 26.6 |
2002 Finals Vs. New Jersey Nets Statistics | | | | | | | | | | |
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Player
| G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | TOT | APG | PPG |
Shaquille O'Neal
| 4 | 4 | 41.5 | .595 | .000 | .662 | 3.30 | 12.30 | 3.8 | 36.3 |
Kobe Bryant
| 4 | 4 | 43.8 | .514 | .545 | .806 | .80 | 5.80 | 5.3 | 26.8 |
So as you can see even with Shaq going ballistic in the Finals against Rik Smits, Todd McCollough, and Deke, young Kobe had comparable numbers and was doing the thing as well, Shaq deserved those MVPs but without Kobe who I doubt the Lakers would have even made it to the Finals, let alone win it all, and vice versa. You can't have one without the other. So if there's a poster with Shaq holding those 3 Finals MVP trophies, Kobe needs to be in the background as well
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