And now, a year-by-year examination of Kobe's five championship wins: The 67-win Lakers downed a Pacers team that featured Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson and Rik Smits in six games, with O’Neal averaging 38 points and 16.7 rebounds.

They did so during their years together in the LA Lakers.

@SHAQ kept it real when speaking on his relationship with Kobe Bryant. I’m damn sure he knows he needs me. Kobe skipped a couple of social NBA steps, the main one being: Pay deference to veteran teammates. Kobe Bryant claims that the Lakers would have won 12 championships during his tenure if Shaquille O'Neal had his work ethic. This was the only Finals sweep of Bryant’s five title runs. The Nets only suffered one double-digit defeat in the series but, on balance, they were arguably the weakest of the Lakers’ five Finals victims given their regular-season record, below-average offense during the regular season, and negative point differential in the playoffs. Pearlman, a one-man cottage industry of books about famous troubled athletes, spoke with the Times about Kobe’s petulance, Shaq’s generosity, Phil’s puppet-mastering and his gnawing dread of the Mamba troll army. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Kobe and Shaq both wanted to be number one, so their relationship suffered. Shaq said he had to get back to the interview, but to let her friend know he would pay every funeral expense. Kobe and Shaq both wanted to be number one, so their relationship suffered. After pairing with Shaquille O’Neal for a three-peat in 2000, 2001 and 2002, Bryant teamed with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom to win titles in 2009 and 2010.

“When we beat Boston in 2010, for me, that’s number one with a bullet.”. At Sports Illustrated we would talk about which athletes were “in on the joke.” Barry Bonds never saw how ludicrous it was he got paid millions to swing a wooden stick at a ball in his pajamas. “Old me and old Kobe,” said O’Neal, who signed a multi-year contract extension Monday with Turner Sports.

It includes the L.A. Lakers and the Minneapolis Lakers with player position, height, weight, DOB and College Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify, Gang's All Here: A NY Jets Podcast He wasn’t a natural fit with the era. Shaq revealed how this relationship didn’t hurt their on-court success. The book thoroughly covers the Kobe Bryant rape case. This is conjecture, but I imagine some of it has to do with not wanting to revisit it. This is a list of NBA players with most championships won as a player. I was crushed when he died. Bryant said that he's brought the idea of more championships up many times while talking to O'Neal. Woman who went missing 2 years ago discovered alive at sea, City dwellers are finding out camping is gross, Marie Osmond's 'Talk' exit thanks to Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood, Pierce Brosnan selling James Bond-inspired Malibu house for $100M, Elon Musk says he'll refuse to take coronavirus vaccine, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Discman attack, Shaq's bodyguard: Crazy details of Kobe punching teammate over $100, Vanessa Bryant sues LA sheriff over graphic helicopter crash photos, Giants star wears Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman tribute cleats, Vanessa Bryant slams LA County sheriff over LeBron James challenge, some things still were left unsaid between them, Yankees star's legacy is clear even if it's over: Sherman.

Yeah, but weirdly, I still think Shaq lived it the right way. In the immediate aftermath, it felt like it could be … I always thought the relationship between Kobe and Shaq deteriorated over time, but the book makes it clear there were problems from the jump. “Understanding the history of the rivalry and all that goes on there. The Magic were also the only one of Bryant’s five Finals to rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Both men took multiple shots at each other over the years, but their relationship seemed to have improved after Kobe’s retirement. (Paul Morse / Los Angeles Times) Kobe Bryant’s death on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash that killed eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, sent shockwaves through the sports world and far beyond. Thanks for contacting us. “You never know what stuff is going to happen. Coming out as LeBron James tries to lead the Lakers to their 17th championship — from inside a masked-up Mickey Mouse bubble peppered with Faces of Zoom — “Three-Ring Circus” is a welcome nostalgia trip to the days when the ongoing squabble between an uber-confident “I got this” teenager and a gentle “No, I got this” giant was front-page news.