THIS LAKERS TEAM IS BETTER THAN KOBE-SHAQ TEAM

[KOBE_PAUER]

Dont kill me please, but I think that, this team is more talented than the Kobe-Shaq team in the early 00s. This team is the better team in the NBA by far, but Kobe-shaq team wasnt the best team in that years, i am convinced the Sacramento Queens were a better team than us but they got owned by his own mistakes. Plus, this team had played 1,5 years together,(Gasman trade) and had played 2 NBA finals. If they had played 2 years together, we would have 2 rings in a row already. With HCA noone can beat L.A. With those players working together all the last season, we would have win against Boston. I havent any doubt. Ok, now you can say Kobe was at his prime(but its now when he is MVP, and finals MVP) or Fish was at his prime(true, but he still did the same clutch shots this year) or we had the Diesel, the most dominant center ever. True, but now we had 3 bigmen(Gasol,Bynum,Odom combo) who bring us more complete game. And still we have Ariza, Shanwow, etc......

[Dr Aki]

more talented yes, from players 1-12, definitely more talented...

more dominating? most definitely no, noone on this lakers team even reaches halfway to shaq's hip when he was beasting down low during those 99-02 teams

only time will tell whether we can match that kind of success, and there is a very good window of opportunity...

celtics getting old, cavs without enough help, blazers are still young, 2010 free-for-all round the corner

we just gotta be focused enough to take advantage of it

this potential dynasty couldnt have started at a better time

[KOBE_PAUER]

more talented yes, from players 1-12, definitely more talented...

more dominating? most definitely no, noone on this lakers team even reaches halfway to shaq's hip when he was beasting down low during those 99-02 teams

only time will tell whether we can match that kind of success, and there is a very good window of opportunity...

celtics getting old, cavs without enough help, blazers are still young, 2010 free-for-all round the corner

we just gotta be focused enough to take advantage of it

this potential dynasty couldnt have started at a better time

Shaq comes to L.A in 1996, our first ring with him was in 1999. 3 years improving the team. This team starts last season in February and his worst result is a NBA Finals....

[Sedale Threatt]

Disagree. First of all, Shaq would have had Bynum on the bench in two minutes, then he would proceed to devour Gasol. Sorry Pau, I'm one of your bigger fans/defenders, but Diesel is dunking your skinny ass through the basket every trip down. Young Kobe vs. Old Kobe is close to a wash; more athletic ability vs. more experience. I vastly prefer Old Kobe, but Young Kobe was no stiff. The three-peat team doesn't have anybody to compare with Odom, but that veteran trio of Fish-Horry-Fox is really tough to beat. So I'd say the 3-peaters would beat this newer team 4-2 pretty consistently, no matter where they played.

[Slava]

Outside of Kobe, Shaq of 2000 was more dominant than the rest of this team put together.

[KOBE_PAUER]

Outside of Kobe, Shaq of 2000 was more dominant than the rest of this team put together.

You are comparing a perfect season (2000) when thats not fair. Kobe-Shaq team played for L.A, 8 seasons, 3 rings 4 finals. This Lakers team hadnt played together more than 1,5 years. 1 ring 2 finals. The team is very young, and we still hadnt seen all his potential.

[Sedale Threatt]

Kobe's first two years were basically a wash. He was a minor contributor as a rookie, and his role was drastically reduced in the playoffs as a sophomore. So in terms of meaningful collaboration, they were together for basically six years.

Besides, it's not about the resumes -- it's about the pure matchups. And that team beats this team comfortably, in my opinion. Prime Shaq totally crushes anything this team has in the paint -- and I am a huge Gasol fan. Plus, the 3-peaters had a clutch, veteran core of role players that is really tough to beat.

This team is very, very good, but they've got a lot of work to do to be declared definitively better than that crew.

[iamworthy]

1999
Brian Shaw
Derek Fisher
John Celestand
Kobe Bryant
Ron Harper v
Tyronn Lue v
Glen Rice
Sam Jacobson
A.C. Green
Devean George
Rick Fox
Robert Horry
John Salley
Shaquille O'Neal
Travis Knight

2009
Trevor Ariza
Shannon Brown
Kobe Bryant
Andrew Bynum
Jordan Farmar
Derek Fisher
Pau Gasol
Didier Ilunga-Mbenga
Adam Morrison
Lamar Odom
Josh Powell
Sasha Vujacic
Luke Walton
Sun Yue


Thats pretty close. Besides the obvious "Shaq" the 1999 team doesnt present any matchup problems and Shaq cannot beat a good team by himself. The 2009 team would give the 1999 team fits in at least 2 positions.

[Luxury]

KOBE_PAUER please wait to compare players/teams/era's after its all said and done.

[Sedale Threatt]

1999

Thats pretty close. Besides the obvious "Shaq" the 1999 team doesnt present any matchup problems and Shaq cannot beat a good team by himself. The 2009 team would give the 1999 team fits in at least 2 positions.

Which ones? The only mismatch I can see is PF. And even then, I can see the wily Robert Horry hanging with Gasol and/or Odom. Otherwise, the 3-peaters have a massive advantage at C, a slight edge at PG (young Fish vs. old Fish) and washes at SF (Fox vs. Ariza) and SG (young Kobe vs. old Kobe).

[KObe Bryant]

I think we had more of veterans in our kobe-shaq team. This is much younger team but both teams already have the same roles and equal in talent. This team have 4-5 years more potential. Maybe this team is better and will be much better.

[iamworthy]

1999

Thats pretty close. Besides the obvious "Shaq" the 1999 team doesnt present any matchup problems and Shaq cannot beat a good team by himself. The 2009 team would give the 1999 team fits in at least 2 positions.

Which ones? The only mismatch I can see is PF. And even then, I can see the wily Robert Horry hanging with Gasol and/or Odom. Otherwise, the 3-peaters have a massive advantage at C, a slight edge at PG (young Fish vs. old Fish) and washes at SF (Fox vs. Ariza) and SG (young Kobe vs. old Kobe).

I think Gasol would pretty much kill Horry. You dont think so? Also, imo nobody on the 1999 team is big enough and fast enough to guard LO. I mean if LO grabs the rebound and goes coast to coast who picks him up. My memory is a little shakey but I dont recall Horry being that good on D. I'll take old Kobe over young Kobe. I dont think the 1999 team has ever played a team as talented and athletic as the 2009 lakers. I know the blazers where pretty tough as well as the kings....but I just dont know. I think its closer than people think.

[KOBE_PAUER]

1999

Thats pretty close. Besides the obvious "Shaq" the 1999 team doesnt present any matchup problems and Shaq cannot beat a good team by himself. The 2009 team would give the 1999 team fits in at least 2 positions.

Which ones? The only mismatch I can see is PF. And even then, I can see the wily Robert Horry hanging with Gasol and/or Odom. Otherwise, the 3-peaters have a massive advantage at C, a slight edge at PG (young Fish vs. old Fish) and washes at SF (Fox vs. Ariza) and SG (young Kobe vs. old Kobe).

Except the season 2000-2001 I dont see that kobe-shaq team so dominant. I still dont know how we won against Portland in 1999-2000 and Sacramento 2001-2002. We were a Horry's miracle shot away to win nothing. And Portland choked badly in 1999. This team when plays his bball is a unstoppable Juggernaut. Most complete gameplay thanks to Gasols ability to run the triangle offense. Last year we won the West easily, this year too. And the finals with HCA is done for L.A.

[iamworthy]

One thing that will probably be under valued in this conversation is team chemistry. That alone wins games.

[MagnusPinus]

This team is more team.. the Shaq Kobe duo was just too much for everybody.. especially shaq was something unbelievable, and faced incredible competition in the west.. now the competition was so much weaker

[LAKESHOW]

uhhh, no.

[LAKESHOW]

well, more specifically, the Atype individual in shaq. and the Atype individual in kobe. were too powerful. in 2001, the 15-1 team is not only the best and strongest team of this decade, but can be thrown into the conversation as one of the best all time greatest teams. if you had to take a great team from the 80s, magics LAKERS for example. and a bulls teams from the 90s. that 2001 team is THEE only team that you can take from this decade and place into the conversation.

that team is not only better than the 09 LAKERs team, but could have played up to and smashed some of the all-time great teams in NBA history.

[Sedale Threatt]

I think Gasol would pretty much kill Horry. You dont think so? Also, imo nobody on the 1999 team is big enough and fast enough to guard LO. I mean if LO grabs the rebound and goes coast to coast who picks him up. My memory is a little shakey but I dont recall Horry being that good on D. I'll take old Kobe over young Kobe. I dont think the 1999 team has ever played a team as talented and athletic as the 2009 lakers. I know the blazers where pretty tough as well as the kings....but I just dont know. I think its closer than people think.

Gasol probably does have his way with Horry, who was more crafty on D than good, but here's the thing -- he wouldn't be matched up against Horry, because Andrew would foul out in 10 minutes against Shaq. If Bynum can't stay on the court long enough to guard Dwight Howard, who is half the offensive force Shaq was, then there's no way he can handle prime Diesel.

Then you bring in Odom, who could do some things against Horry, but not nearly enough to offset what Shaq would proceed to do to Pau, an underrated defender in my book but lacking either the size or strength to survive. That single matchup would be so ugly, in my opinion, that it swings the debate decisively in favor of the 3-peaters.

This year's Lakers get the nod over the 00 Blazers and 02 Kings because they won a title, but I think both of those teams would have done very, very well in today's league. The Blazers were ultra-talented, one of the deepest teams I've ever seen 1-10, and the Kings had one of the better starting 5s in recent NBA history.

[DEEP3CL]

Ahhhh.........no it's not better, deeper and talented but those Shaq-Kobe teams had killer instinct.

[Verbal]

+1 Deep.


The Kobes cancel each other out.

Shaq commands the double team.

Supporting cast is debatable.

3peat Phil > this year's Phil.


(fans/superfans/angels/demons/gods are not taken into account in this debate)