Shaquille O'Neal would never have won a single title if it weren't for Kobe and a slew of sharpshooters standing on the perimeter, waiting for Shaq to pass them the ball. Phil Jackson's no dummy. He did the same thing with his Bulls teams. There was Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen (highly undervalued) and a bunch of ace shooters that MJ could dish to at any time. That's not to mention the rebound machine in Dennis Rodman prowling under the basket for all of the 'no dominant center' arguers.
The years that the Lakers won three in a row, their Playoff formula was always the same. Shaq dominated in the Finals first, because he was and is a monster and secondly because there weren't any good big men to guard him. The less heralded story, since most casual watchers tune in primarily for the Finals, was how much Kobe dismantled, practically single handedly at times, teams in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
Kobe and MJ's (Bulls) careers took opposite trajectories. Jordan was a scoring machine with a bunch of mediocre players early in his career. He didn't win until Phil Jackson arrived with a better system and better players, lead by the young Scottie Pippen. Kobe developed for a couple of years, then Phil Jackson came and taught an already stacked team how to play to win. Kobe won his championships early and now is a scoring machine on a mediocre team (Phil or no Phil). Besides the Lakers first Championship run, Shaq's best career year, Kobe Bryant carried those teams in Shaq's oft injured absence during the regular season. Lets not forget also a couple of seasons back when Kobe scored 40+ points in nine straight games sans Shaq, the year they were defeated by the Pistons in the Finals. Simply put, since Shaq was the more amiable player people always say that he carried Kobe. However, make no mistake, no Kobe, no rings and Shaq knows that.
My basic point is, notice how many "Heir to the Throne" players, Kobe among them, have come along in Jordan's wake. The only player who keeps coming up in that argument is Kobe. Leave his likability, etc. aside and there is no denying that, dare I say, Kobe Bryant can be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan. Is he a better player than MJ? I'll leave that until Kobe's career is over. He, Kobe, is just now entering into his athletic prime. He may never have that other 'great player' again to help shoulder some of the load. If, for arguments sake, he did and won another championship or two, then you would see the argument split right down the middle. So, is Kobe greater? We'll see... but he's definetly breathing down MJ's neck.
The years that the Lakers won three in a row, their Playoff formula was always the same. Shaq dominated in the Finals first, because he was and is a monster and secondly because there weren't any good big men to guard him. The less heralded story, since most casual watchers tune in primarily for the Finals, was how much Kobe dismantled, practically single handedly at times, teams in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
Kobe and MJ's (Bulls) careers took opposite trajectories. Jordan was a scoring machine with a bunch of mediocre players early in his career. He didn't win until Phil Jackson arrived with a better system and better players, lead by the young Scottie Pippen. Kobe developed for a couple of years, then Phil Jackson came and taught an already stacked team how to play to win. Kobe won his championships early and now is a scoring machine on a mediocre team (Phil or no Phil). Besides the Lakers first Championship run, Shaq's best career year, Kobe Bryant carried those teams in Shaq's oft injured absence during the regular season. Lets not forget also a couple of seasons back when Kobe scored 40+ points in nine straight games sans Shaq, the year they were defeated by the Pistons in the Finals. Simply put, since Shaq was the more amiable player people always say that he carried Kobe. However, make no mistake, no Kobe, no rings and Shaq knows that.
My basic point is, notice how many "Heir to the Throne" players, Kobe among them, have come along in Jordan's wake. The only player who keeps coming up in that argument is Kobe. Leave his likability, etc. aside and there is no denying that, dare I say, Kobe Bryant can be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan. Is he a better player than MJ? I'll leave that until Kobe's career is over. He, Kobe, is just now entering into his athletic prime. He may never have that other 'great player' again to help shoulder some of the load. If, for arguments sake, he did and won another championship or two, then you would see the argument split right down the middle. So, is Kobe greater? We'll see... but he's definetly breathing down MJ's neck.
