Kobe Bryant, in reality, wasn???t as big as a factor with the Lakers during their championship runs as perception makes it seem. If you took Shaq off the Lakers during their title runs, the Lakers wouldn???t be guaranteed to make the playoffs. When O???Neal was injured during his three peat, the Lakers had a regular-season record of 12-11 (.5217%). When Kobe was injured, the Lakers regular season record was 25-7 (.78%). Interestingly, the Lakers??? entire regular-season record during their three-peats was 181-65 (.735%), which is a lower record than when Kobe wasn???t playing. The Lakers therefore actually had a better record when Kobe wasn???t playing. But how could this be possible? Well as a big Lakers??? fan during their championship runs, I watched the games very closely. One thing I will tell you is that the team was at its best when the team played through Shaq. The Lakers were most dangerous when the Lakers would play through Shaq, wait for him to get double teamed, and have players such as Rick Fox, Robert Horry, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher spot up for the open shot, or cut in the lane. However, the Lakers often failed to play through Shaq enough, and it would cost them games sometimes. However, never was this more obvious than at times when Kobe would try to steal the show. A young immature Kobe Bryant would constantly take difficult contested shots, instead of just playing through Shaq, then cutting into lane or spotting up for that open shot. I???ll admit that when Kobe Bryant was playing through Shaq, he was a great asset to have. Unfortunately for all the times he was an asset, he was also a cancer when he tried to be the ???man???. The Lakers??? record without Kobe and without Shaq is not a stat many people know of, as I couldn???t find it anywhere. I personally had to look at every game by game during the Lakers??? championship runs to find those stats out. As I said earlier, I watched the Lakers very closely. One thing I noticed was that when Shaq was on the bench, the team frankly was just a mediocre team. I also noticed that when Kobe was on the bench, the team was just as good without him. I therefore decided to do the research and find out if this was true or not. Not coincidentally, the records I found proved my theory to be correct. As I showed earlier, the Lakers became a sub .500 team without Shaq, but had a better record without Kobe. Bryant to me is one of the luckiest players of all time. Not many all time greats can say that they started their career playing with the best player in the NBA. Every time Kobe looks at his first three rings, he should thank god everyday that he had the opportunity to play with Shaq. In reality the young Kobe Bryant who won three championships isn???t as good as the Kobe leading the Lakers right now. The record books, unfortunately, will not have an asterisk that says ???led by Shaq.??? When Kobe is compared to the all time greats such as Michael Jordan, his first three championships to the naked eye will looks just as good as Michael Jordan???s first 3 championships. If Kobe never played with Shaq, he likely would have one ring. Thus without most of his rings, Kobe wouldn???t be perceived to be the top five player of all time many perceive him to currently be.
If you took Shaq off the Lakers during their title runs, the Lakers wouldn???t be guaranteed to make the playoffs. When O???Neal was injured during his three peat, the Lakers had a regular-season record of 12-11 (.5217%).
When Kobe was injured, the Lakers regular season record was 25-7 (.78%). Interestingly, the Lakers??? entire regular-season record during their three-peats was 181-65 (.735%), which is a lower record than when Kobe wasn???t playing. The Lakers therefore actually had a better record when Kobe wasn???t playing.
But how could this be possible? Well as a big Lakers??? fan during their championship runs, I watched the games very closely. One thing I will tell you is that the team was at its best when the team played through Shaq.
The Lakers were most dangerous when the Lakers would play through Shaq, wait for him to get double teamed, and have players such as Rick Fox, Robert Horry, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher spot up for the open shot, or cut in the lane.
However, the Lakers often failed to play through Shaq enough, and it would cost them games sometimes. However, never was this more obvious than at times when Kobe would try to steal the show.
A young immature Kobe Bryant would constantly take difficult contested shots, instead of just playing through Shaq, then cutting into lane or spotting up for that open shot.
I???ll admit that when Kobe Bryant was playing through Shaq, he was a great asset to have. Unfortunately for all the times he was an asset, he was also a cancer when he tried to be the ???man???.
The Lakers??? record without Kobe and without Shaq is not a stat many people know of, as I couldn???t find it anywhere. I personally had to look at every game by game during the Lakers??? championship runs to find those stats out.
As I said earlier, I watched the Lakers very closely. One thing I noticed was that when Shaq was on the bench, the team frankly was just a mediocre team.
I also noticed that when Kobe was on the bench, the team was just as good without him. I therefore decided to do the research and find out if this was true or not.
Not coincidentally, the records I found proved my theory to be correct. As I showed earlier, the Lakers became a sub .500 team without Shaq, but had a better record without Kobe.
Bryant to me is one of the luckiest players of all time. Not many all time greats can say that they started their career playing with the best player in the NBA.
Every time Kobe looks at his first three rings, he should thank god everyday that he had the opportunity to play with Shaq. In reality the young Kobe Bryant who won three championships isn???t as good as the Kobe leading the Lakers right now.
The record books, unfortunately, will not have an asterisk that says ???led by Shaq.??? When Kobe is compared to the all time greats such as Michael Jordan, his first three championships to the naked eye will looks just as good as Michael Jordan???s first 3 championships.
If Kobe never played with Shaq, he likely would have one ring. Thus without most of his rings, Kobe wouldn???t be perceived to be the top five player of all time many perceive him to currently be.