“Got one more ring than Shaquille O’Neal now”: When Kobe Bryant mocked Shaq for having only 4 rings after winning the 2010 Finals

Right after winning his 5^th NBA Championship defeating the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant was asked how much did winning those finals meant to him. The Black Mamba jokingly stated how he now had “one more” than Shaquille O’Neal.

Back in 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers ended their 57-win campaign emerging victorious. After a difficult and tedious 9-months long season, the Lakers ended up winning their franchise’s 16^th NBA Championship, and Kobe Bryant won his 5^th title while lifting his second Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy.

In a fairly easy route to the Finals, LAL eliminated a young OKC team 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs, swept the Utah Jazz 4-0 in the Conference Semis, and handed Phoenix a 4-2 series defeat to enter the 2010 NBA Finals. Unlike the rest of their postseason matchups Kobe Bryant and co. played a tiring 7-game series against a tough Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett led-Boston Celtics team.

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Kobe Bryant amusingly disclosed what winning the 2010 Finals meant to him.

After losing Game 5 and going down 3-2 many fans and analysts believed that the finals have already seen a winner. But with the “never giving up” attitude the Mamba had instilled in his team, the Lakers bounced back and ended up winning Game 6 & 7, to win the 2010 title.

Putting up 28.6 points, 8 rebounds and 3.9 assists on an efficient 40.5/31.9/88.3 shooting split, Kobe Bryant was rightfully awarded the Finals MVP. And during his postgame interview, the Mamba was asked:

Can you speak in terms of what this means to you individually? We know what it means as a team, but what about individually for you?

Bean jokingly took shots at his former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal while answering the question.

“Just got one more than Shaq. (Laughter). You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don’t forget anything.”

What did that fifth title mean to the Mamba?

“Got one more than Shaq.” pic.twitter.com/phSSYD3mX8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 17, 2020

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Right after being called the “greatest Laker” for winning his 5^th title by Shaq, Kobe went on to hilariously mock The Diesel for having only 4 rings. Clearly, Bryant, being the competitive freak he was, was keeping score and didn’t hesitate to let the whole world know.