Shaquille O’Neal won three NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
While Shaquille O’Neal was undoubtedly the primary superstar on the LA Lakers’ three rings from 2000 to 2002, he had a talented sidekick.
It was none other than NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who was still making a name for himself when the Lakers completed a three-peat.
Despite being the secondary star on the team, Bryant’s contributions were still important for the Purple and Gold.
Former NBA star Tracy McGrady recently made headlines for claiming he wouldn’t have retired ringless if he were on the Lakers alongside Shaq instead of Kobe.
O’Neal only added fuel to the fire when he not only backed T-Mac’s claim, Shaq announced he would have won three rings with him, like he did with Bryant.
Now, O’Neal’s former teammate and a member of the Lakers’ 2002 NBA championship-winning roster, Samaki Walker, recently called ‘cap’ on the Hall of Famer’s statement.
“I’m calling Cap. Let me tell you something. I love T-Mac. T-Mac is one of my favorite players, and I watched him.
“In fact, he was as talented, and potentially even more talented, than Kobe from a pure talent standpoint,” Walker said on The Coach JB Show.
He added: “But when you talk about basketball players, it’s how you play the game. It ain’t just scoring. It was what Kobe did off the court to prepare mentally.”
As Walker mentioned, McGrady was once viewed as Bryant’s rival on the court, but that’s where the comparisons ended.
O’Neal retired from the NBA as a four-time champion. But to this day, many believe that Shaq underachieved due to his lackluster work ethic.
Bryant, on the other hand, was a student of the game and did everything in his power to gain the advantage over his opponents.
“Would T-Mac challenge Shaq the way he did? We’re talking mentality now. Would that happen? I doubt it,” Walker said while explaining how Kobe was the perfect teammate for Shaq.
“Kobe had the mentality to bring the best out of the Diesel and carry that, and wasn’t willing to be confrontational with anybody. It wasn’t about being boys with Kobe. And that’s what makes success,” he concluded.
Indeed, that’s an excellent take, and considering Bryant won two more rings as the primary option on the Lakers, it proves that he was capable of leading the team to championships without Shaq.
