Shaquille O’Neal firmly stated that Kobe Bryant was the best player in the world after going up 2-0 against San Antonio in 2001.
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Jerry West undoubtedly had one of the greatest offseasons of all time in 1996 when he managed to snag Kobe Bryant away from Charlotte and signed Shaquille O’Neal. In merely their 4th season together, the Los Angeles Lakers made their way to the NBA Finals and beat the Indiana Pacers in 6 games to open up the millennia with a championship.
The following season, the defending champions regressed in the regular season but would go an astounding 15-1 in the Playoffs, with their only loss coming against Allen Iverson and his Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Along the way however, the Lakers would get matched up against past champions of the league: the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan would help David Robinson acquire his first championship his merely his sophomore season in ‘99 and would continue to display their dominance in the postseason.
Kobe Bryant and company however, had other plans.
Shaquille O’Neal on Kobe Bryant in the Playoffs.
After sweeping both the Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings, the Lakers came across the San Atonio Spurs, led by the Twin Towers in the Western Conference Finals. With Shaq struggling to get in a rhythm, Kobe Bryant took over the reins and dropped 45 points in Game 1 to give the purple and gold the victory.
Also read: Kobe Bryant Once Paid Off a $22,000 Club Bill for Chandler Parsons, at the Supper Club!
Game 2 wasn’t all too pretty offensively for LA either but they would manage to come out on top yet again after Kobe had himself 28 points. Following that Game 2 win, the two were interview on the hardwood where ‘The Big Aristotle’ would proclaim that Bryant was indeed the best player in the entire world.
After this, the Lakers were essentially unstoppable as they won Games 3 and 4 by a combined 68 points. Of course, after this, the rest would be history.
