When you think of the early 2000s Lakers, you think of two guys: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Perhaps Phil Jackson, as well, if we’re counting coaches. It’s amazingly been a quarter of a century since that eventual three-peat champion was in its absolute prime, and the legends of Shaq and Kobe have only grown in all those years.
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Both have long since retired, and of course Kobe tragically passed away just over six years ago. Shaq was eventually traded to resolve the feud between those two superstars, yet still they’ve been inextricably linked throughout the years.
The passage of time naturally forces our memories to cling to just a few totems, hence why Shaq and Kobe are the predominant thing people think of when they look back at that dynasty. There was much more to it, though, especially early on, which Reggie Miller helpfully reminded people on a recent podcast appearance.
Miller was on the Rushmore on X podcast along with Shaq, and at one point the discussion turned to their matchup in the 2000 NBA Finals. The Lakers ended up winning that series in six games, marking the beginning of their dominant three-year run. Interestingly, Miller said that there were two guys his Pacers were worried about stopping, and Kobe wasn’t one of them.
“I love Kobe to death, but we weren’t worried about Kobe,” Miller said.
“At all. He was a young Kobe. He was young. We were worried really about two guys: Glen Rice, more importantly Shaq, but Glen Rice too, because he was one of those dawgs. He just never played on a team surrounded by great players like that,” he explained.
It’s fascinating to hear Miller say that, because Kobe is held in such high esteem now. Looking back, though, it makes some sense. Kobe was in his fourth year in the league, and though he had already become a force and was named Second Team All-NBA at the end of the year, Rice was a bad man, too.
He was just two years removed from receiving MVP votes and three straight All-Star appearances, so he still had the reputation of a great player.
Realistically, Kobe probably surpassed Rice as a player about a year before these Finals. Their stats in the 1998-99 season were similar, with Kobe averaging 2.4 more points per game, as well as more assists and rebounds. He was still only 21 when these teams met, though, while Rice was a hardened vet at 32.
In a vacuum, the Pacers had a good plan. As Miller laughed, though, they didn’t execute it. “If we can slow him down,” he said as he gestured towards Shaq, “which we ended up not doing, and limit Glen Rice, we would have a shot, and we didn’t do either one.”
Shaq won the first of his three Finals MVPs as he averaged an absurd 38.7 points and 16.7 rebounds per game. Kobe missed part of Game 2 and all of Game 3 with a sprained ankle, but still finished with nine more points than Rice during the series.
Rice played a huge part in the Lakers’ win, though, outshining even Miller as a 3-point shooter. Whereas Reggie hit a respectable 15-40 from deep, Rice was scorching hot, making 12-19 from outside for a ridiculous 63.2%.
It’s debatable whether Rice was a more important guy to stop at this point in his and Kobe’s careers, but you have to love Miller giving some shine to a guy who was a great player in his day.
Rice was traded before the following season to the Knicks for Eddie Jones, a move that firmly established that this was Shaq and Kobe’s team. None of it, however, takes away from the fact that he played a big part in winning that 2000 title.
