No two teammates in basketball history have ever been as dominant as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Putting aside their dramatic split, the duo achieved great success together, capturing three-straight Championships to mark one of the greatest stretches by any team in sports history.
And while decades have passed since the height of their run, fans have not forgotten all that they were able to do together.
In a recent post on Twitter, LakerFanatics asked fans to describe the tandem in one word, and the results were pretty awesome:
https://twitter.com/KillRonin_/status/1437139325674790912
— mh (@mh4troy) September 12, 2021
Unstoppable
— Marcus🏈🏀🟣⚪️🇨🇴 (@KSU_MOB) September 12, 2021
Transcendent
— XXXIV & LVI🤘 (@WITRandy) September 12, 2021
Championship
— Shaun Redrum (@ShaunRedrum) September 12, 2021
Dynasty
— PBoulieu (@PBoulieu) September 12, 2021
Greatness
— Walker (@walker6817) September 12, 2021
Legendary!!
— Rion J.B. (@ri_1726) September 12, 2021
Iconic
— 🏁 Old Head Shawt 🏁 (@iRepLakerNation) September 12, 2021
Powerhouse
— Kobe 4 Life (@kathyharris838) September 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/calebthaG/status/1437156189859729411
Unfair
— Ray Dunning (@suga_ray_nathan) September 13, 2021
Indeed, there are many words one could use to describe the pair. Dominant, great, unfair, transcendent, legendary, iconic… the point is, they were amazing and it’s clear Lakers fans still appreciate that.
The only question concerning their time together is what more they might have done had they not split so dramatically in 2004.
According to the Big Diesel himself, he and Kobe could have won many more Chips.
Seven. Cause the reason why I got traded, it wasn’t me and Kobe beef, it was they wanted me to take less money… I got money, I had money. I just should have been like “Alright, I’ve raised you enough. It’s your team now. I know what I’m gonna do, I’m still gonna do my 28 and 10″… The ego still got me what I wanted, I still went to Miami, Pat took care of me, and I still won one. But I would have liked to stay there (Los Angeles) for the rest of my career.
There is no going back to change things now. The past is the past, and it’s a shame the Kobe/Shaq duo ended sooner than it should have.
Fortunately, we can still celebrate what they were able to do, and recognize just how great it was.
