Kobe Bryant’s Interview After 1st Championship Without Shaquille O’Neal Shows His Mamba Mentality

Jeet Pukhrambam | 09/07/2022
Kobe Bryant’s Interview After 1st Championship Without Shaquille O’Neal Shows His Mamba Mentality

Kobe Bryant won his first championship without Shaquille O’Neal in 2009. He was asked what it felt like to be the main guy.

When Kobe Bryant finally shut down the noise and won his fourth championship, he did so without the help of another dominant athlete.

The news cycles were awash with how he conquered the NBA without the help of a certain dominant big man, a man by the name of Shaquille O’Neal.

The burden was already a lot, Bryant had to endure constant lambasting from analysts who said that he had no mettle, that he cannot win without another superstar, and that he can never be the main guy.

Sometimes, silence can be deafening. When the Lakers legend finally proved his haters and doubters wrong, the silence was deafening.

Also read: “The length, the snake, the bite, the strike, the temperament”: Kobe Bryant reveals the story behind his nickname Black Mamba

Kobe Bryant wins his first championship without help, crushes all the fear and doubt, says he it is not fair to be asking if he feels good to be the main guy

The summary makes everything clear, Kobe didn’t care if he was the main guy. According to him, if you even have to ask what it is like to win as the main guy, you don’t know basketball.

We heard you, Kobe, that is a sensible comment.

Kobe knew he had to win without another star to truly put his stamp as an NBA legend. And put the stamp he did, going back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.

His comments about being able to win, without another superstar, make a lot of sense. It is just a falsely driven narrative driven by the media.

That was Kobe’s 13th season in the league and this year another superstar did the same thing. His supporting cast was weaker than usual and they won the championship.

Also read: “Kobe Bryant watched Michael Jordan and karate tapes!”: Tracy McGrady detailed the insane vacation schedule that an 18-year-old Lakers legend had in Paris
Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam
Kobe Bryant Lakers NBA Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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