The "Kobe was a sidekick" argument needs to stop

[the artist known az]

The only rookie coach he's faced. If you haven't seen, this guy is a spam troll. Don't waste your time on this one. It's like seeing people argue with @Sausageman

I see he didn't post Shaq's conference final stats

Them nikkas act like Shaq was chilling til the finals

 

[IGSaint12]

Shaq did win without Kobe

And Kobe won without Shaq.

 

[Dirty D]

Why only post stats from the finals? The real battles were out West. The finals were a cakewalk.

We were getting swept out of the playoffs before Kobe turned into a Star. Fact. Those teams didn't lack talent either.

Championships are a team accomplishment. So this whole thread is dumb to begin with.

I did the Finals cuz it's the Finals. Championships/Finals MVP's are decided there, and isn't that where all this arguing starts from? Nobody's starting "Mike Bibby was more than just a sidekick!" threads.

Feel free to do the same for the WCF's, all I did was pull up box scores from basketball reference and format the #'s.

 

[Sccit]

Shaq did win without Kobe

YEA AND WHO WAS THE FINALS MVP THAT YEAR? ..NOT SHAQ. BUT KOBE WAS WITOUT SHAQ...TWICE. PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING. PEOPLE THOUGHT KOBE NEEDED A SUPERSTAR BIG TO WIN, WHEN IT WAS REALLY SHAQ WHO NEEDED A SUPERSTAR GUARD.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

And Kobe won without Shaq.

He was the best player on his team 1 time in 5 tries. I'm not too mad about that. Between watching Boston and Los Angeles in 2010 I didn't really care and the magic fans I know we're funny to laugh at after 2009. Shaq was clearly the better player at his peak

 

[IGSaint12]

I did the Finals cuz it's the Finals. Championships/Finals MVP's are decided there, and isn't that where all this arguing starts from? Nobody's starting "Mike Bibby was more than just a sidekick!" threads.

Feel free to do the same for the WCF's, all I did was pull up box scores from basketball reference and format the #'s.

It's intellectually dishonest though. If your team's hardest road is the Western Conference and then a cakewalk in the eastern conference why should you highlight only the finals as proof when it's the easiest especially with the lack of good centers in the final at that time.

 

[the artist known az]

I did the Finals cuz it's the Finals. Championships/Finals MVP's are decided there, and isn't that where all this arguing starts from? Nobody's starting "Mike Bibby was more than just a sidekick!" threads.

Feel free to do the same for the WCF's, all I did was pull up box scores from basketball reference and format the #'s.

Shaq's #s were the same in WCF as they was in the finals...Kobe just had higher #s than he did in the finals

BUT THEY WERE STILL BELOW SHAQ

 

[BrothaZay]

Here's Shaq's stats from the 2000 Finals:
Game 1 43pts 19rebs
Game 2 40 pts 24rebs
Game 3 33pts 13 rebs
Game 4 36pts 21rebs
Game 5 35pts 11rebs
Game 6 41pts 12rebs

He averaged 38pts & 17rebs in the finals

But it wasn't Shaq that won that series

And this is who was his opposing center. A last year Rik Smits who averaged 10ppg and 4rpg that series and only 12ppg and 5rpg that season on sub 50% shooting.

Stop acting like the most talented players on all 3 of those opposing teams werent shooting Guards.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

YEA AND WHO WAS THE FINALS MVP THAT YEAR? NOPE..BUT KOBE WAS WITOUT SHAQ...TWICE. PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING. PEOPLE THOUGHT KOBE NEEDED A SUPERSTAR BIG TO WIN, WHEN IT WAS REALLY SHAQ WHO NEEDED A SUPERSTAR GUARD.

So not being finals mvp at 34 is an indictment of him? Where was Kobe at 34? Oh that's right he was sitting at home with a torn Achilles' tendon

 

[Dirty D]

They were colead. Shaq was more dominant but thats more because of his position. I love Shaq but im not finna sit here and act like if I was on that Lakers team I wouldnt consider Kobe the leader, considering he was the one that actually worked hard and took the game seriously of the two.

Revisionist history. Shaq did enough work when he played that the team fell in line with him. Most of Kobe's teammates on those teams didn't even like him, thought he was a punk kid and def didn't call themselves following him as a leader.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

I see he didn't post Shaq's conference final stats

Them nikkas act like Shaq was chilling til the finals

Argue with a spam troll brehs

 

[BrothaZay]

Revisionist history. Shaq did enough work when he played that the team fell in line with him. Most of Kobe's teammates on those teams didn't even like him, thought he was a punk kid and def didn't call themselves following him as a leader.

Well I dont consider someone who sits out and refuses to play until he gets paid what he wants a leader either.

 

[Sccit]

I did the Finals cuz it's the Finals. Championships/Finals MVP's are decided there, and isn't that where all this arguing starts from? Nobody's starting "Mike Bibby was more than just a sidekick!" threads.

Feel free to do the same for the WCF's, all I did was pull up box scores from basketball reference and format the #'s.

NO U DID THE FINALS BECAUSE IT WAS CONVENIENT TO YOUR ARGUMENT, PRETENDING LIKE LAKERS WERENT FACIN SCRUB TEAMS IN THE FINALS.. STOP LYIN. KOBE WORKED HARD TO WIN..SHAQ WORKED HARD TO LOOK GOOD. THATS WHY KOBE HAD BIG NUMBERS WHEN THEY WERE NEEDED AND SHAQ HAD BIG NUMBERS IN BLOWOUTS. HE LIKED LOOKIN GOOD AS MUCH AS HE LIKED WINNING, WHILE KOBE ALWAYS PUT WINNING FIRST.

 

[the artist known az]

And this is who was his opposing center. A last year Rik Smits who averaged 10ppg and 4rpg that series and only 12ppg and 5rpg that season on sub 50% shooting.

Stop acting like the most talented players on all 3 of those opposing teams werent shooting Guards.

Everybody knows Rik Smits didn't lead the Pacers to the finals jackass, what does that have to do with anything? You act like Shaq wasn't the best player in the NBA at that time

 

[BrothaZay]

I dont think that the people claiming that Kobe was on Shaq's level actually watched the lakers from 1999 to 2004.

That was Shaq at his prime. Those fukkers could have run every single play via shaq and they would have broken the 72-10 bulls record. That's how scary Diesel was. The only problem was his general work ethic. Kobe got elevated the same way that a player like Chalmers sometimes looked like a worldbeater playing alongside Wade and Lebron. He was important but he was the least of the other team's worries on defense and offense. In a way, it actually helped Kobe develop but he was sidekick just like Pippen was.

Compare Kobe Bryant to Mario Chalmers brehs