“Than 96 Hall Of Famers”: Shaquille O’Neal Digs Up ‘16,866 And 16,777’ Reasons To Cement Kobe Bryant’s ‘GOAT’ Status

The entire basketball world came together to celebrate 23^rd August and 24^th August in honor of Kobe Bryant – his 45^th birthday and “Kobe Day”, respectively. Shaquille O’Neal is merely one of the many NBA personalities who have been remembering the Los Angeles Lakers legend. For the past few days, Shaq has been sharing iconic photos and clips of his former teammate on social media. Among one of the posts that Shaq shared on his Instagram story was a graphic that displayed Kobe’s lethal scoring prowess. According to the graphic shared by the Big Aristotle, Kobe Bryant outscored 96 Hall-Of-Famers wearing #8 and #24 individually.

LeBron James and Michael Jordan are often regarded as GOAT and GOAT 2.0 by basketball fans around the world. However, Shaq is one of the very few people who believes that Kobe Bryant also needs to be a part of those conversations. During an appearance on First Take from a few years ago, Shaq made a case for the Black Mamba’s inclusion in the GOAT debate.

“LeBron James is the greatest player ever? What about Michael (Jordan) and Kobe (Bryant)? So you just gonna pass Kobe up like that?”

As soon as Ryan Hollins dismissed Kobe’s GOAT case, Shaq and Max Kellerman were left in disbelief.

Shaquille O’Neal shares a graphic that depicts Bryant’s offensive dominance

Kobe Bryant was one of the most lethal scorers in NBA history. Even though he was the master of the midrange jumper, the 6-foot-6 Shooting Guard had a variety of different moves that he would use to go on a scoring rampage.

Over his 20-year illustrious career, Bryant lodged 33,643 points. Shaq shared mambabasketball24’s post on his story that depicted how Kobe outscored 96 other Hall-Of-Famers wearing #8 and #24 individually. For the first half of his career (wearing #8) Bryant recorded 16,866 points. Whereas, the Mamba recorded 16,777 points in the second half of his career (wearing #24). Being able to collect accolades wearing both jersey numbers, the Lakers organization honored Bryant by retiring both his numbers.

Bryant and O’Neal are one of the most dynamic duos in NBA history. As teammates, they dominated the league, winning three straight Championships from 2000-2002. However, on-court success couldn’t help save the fractured relationship they had off the court. After beefing with each other throughout the course of their careers, Shaq and Kobe decided to resolve the matter following the latter’s retirement.

The Los Angele Lakers announce details of the unveiling of a Kobe Bryant statue

The Los Angeles Lakers are tied with the Boston Celtics as the most successful franchise in NBA history. Over the span of their organization’s existence, some of the game’s biggest names have suited up for the Purple & Gold. Thus, the likes of Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Jerry West are awarded with their respective statues.

As disclosed by the California side, Bryant will become only the seventh Laker with a statue. In a video posted at 8:24 AM, Vannesa Bryant disclosed that the statue would be unveiled on February 8, 2024. Having won five titles, two Finals MVPs, and one MVP, the Mamba certainly deserves this honor.