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Basically 2003 is the only season in the Shaq/Kobe era where I think Kobe has a case of being the better of the 2 . While the advanced stats favor Shaq again, Kobe did save the Lakers season with his incredible run in late January and February. Kobe also played better defense that year too and I would say much of that is due to 2003 being Shaq laziest year defensively and him being the most out of shape he possibly had been until that point. Even the defensive advanced stats show this , with Kobe having higher Defensive win shares and while Shaq had higher Defensive rating it was only be one and while that on paper that may look like an advantage to Shaq ,but the fact that a Center defense rating only is one point better than a Guard shows volumes(For example in 2001 and 2002 it was 4 points , and once again in 2004 it was 4 points).

So Regular Season I would say Kobe was clearly the better of the two. Now playoffs I would say Shaq was the better of the two again with him being clearly better offensively and defensively . So while the playoffs are more important which would give Shaq the edge, we have to remember that Kobe basically was the main reason they made the playoffs in the first place which I say cancels things out.


2003 I would basically say its a wash that year while every other year Shaq was clearly better.

No because he was still the selfish Kobe

No, but he thought he was by that point

The rules change in 2003 impacted Kobe more than Shaq. No hand/arm contact above the FT line extended was the biggest change for perimeter players in the history of the league. And Shaq is known for working his way into shape in the early season. Shaq was the more dominant player though. Prime Shaq warped defenses more than maybe anyone in history.

There wasn’t a single season they played together where Kobe was better.

I think the better poll would be in which year Kobe actually surpassed Shaq.

No, but this was the only time they were on the same level and it was 1A and 1B. I actually think Kobe and Shaq this year were the two most dominant players to ever play on the same team.

Kobe was definitely the better player, and arguably the best player in the league before he got hurt at the end.

Kobe was definitely not the better player in 2003 and arguably was never the best player in the league. Shaq was two years into his inexorable decline and had fallen below Duncan but was still the 2nd best player in the league in 2003. Kobe I have 4th behind Dirk. TMac 5th and KG 6th.

That said, Kobe did carry a little more of the regular season weight than Shaq due to his insistence on recovering from injury on "company time". In the playoffs, Kobe did have a kind of breakthrough in that for the first time he and not Shaq led the Lakers in PPG but that was also part of the problem because Kobe now thought he was better than lazy old Shaq and he was wrong. Not only was Shaq still a better player and would be for almost 2 more years, but Kobe also needed Shaq to win and it was an unforced error on his part to help push Shaq out. Putting together a winning team was harder than he realized.

Shaq of course is the #1 person responsible for getting Shaq traded. Pure ego on display there, nothing else. "Now you gonna pay me?" Through the Lakers Shaq got everything he always wanted: titles, MVPs, 9 figure contracts, world fame and extremely high status in LA, the stage of the world. Shaq threw it all away over a practically irrelevant contract dispute that he helped engineer because he felt disrespected not to be offered more. Shaq could have won 2 or 3 more titles with the Lakers if he could have shared the spotlight with Kobe as equals by 2003. Shaq could have not ended his career wandering around the East burning one town after another. Shaq could have taken proper care of his body and worked with Phil to retain effectiveness. The awesome condition Shaq showed off when he arrived in Miami was meant to be an affront against the Lakers but really said it all about how bloated his ego had become. If he had done that work in 2003 everything could have been different.

udfa wrote:Kobe was definitely not the better player in 2003 and arguably was never the best player in the league. Shaq was two years into his inexorable decline and had fallen below Duncan but was still the 2nd best player in the league in 2003. Kobe I have 4th behind Dirk. TMac 5th and KG 6th.

That said, Kobe did carry a little more of the regular season weight than Shaq due to his insistence of recovering from injury on "company time". In the playoffs, Kobe did have a kind of breakthrough in that for the first time he and not Shaq led the Lakers in PPG but that was also part of the problem because Kobe now thought he was better than lazy old Shaq and he was wrong. Not only was Shaq still a better player and would be for almost 2 more years, but Kobe also needed Shaq to win and it was an unforced error on his part to help push Shaq out. Putting together a winning team was harder than he realized.

Shaq of course is the #1 person responsible for getting Shaq traded. Pure ego on display there, nothing else. "Now you gonna pay me?" Through the Lakers Shaq got everything he always wanted: titles, MVPs, 9 figure contracts, world fame and extremely high status in LA, the stage of the world. Shaq threw it all away over a practically irrelevant contract dispute that he helped engineer because he felt disrespected not to be offered more. Shaq could have won 2 or 3 more titles with the Lakers if he could have shared the spotlight with Kobe as equals by 2003. Shaq could have not ended his career wandering around the East burning one town after another. Shaq could have taken proper care of his body and worked with Phil to retain effectiveness. The awesome condition Shaq showed off when he arrived in Miami was meant to be an affront against the Lakers but really said it all about how bloated his ego had become. If he had done that work in 2003 everything could have been different.

Shaq was hurt in 2003, I'm not sure why history is being changed to suggest Shaq was the best player, because no one thought that back then. 2003 is regarded as when Kobe was the better player, and it was also a big reason why the duo broke up. 03 is the season Kobe had that streak, and was a 2-way monster.

Even on Realgm where Kobe is generally hated, he was voted higher than Shaq in 2003 during the POY project.

An Unbiased Fan wrote:

udfa wrote:Kobe was definitely not the better player in 2003 and arguably was never the best player in the league. Shaq was two years into his inexorable decline and had fallen below Duncan but was still the 2nd best player in the league in 2003. Kobe I have 4th behind Dirk. TMac 5th and KG 6th.

That said, Kobe did carry a little more of the regular season weight than Shaq due to his insistence of recovering from injury on "company time". In the playoffs, Kobe did have a kind of breakthrough in that for the first time he and not Shaq led the Lakers in PPG but that was also part of the problem because Kobe now thought he was better than lazy old Shaq and he was wrong. Not only was Shaq still a better player and would be for almost 2 more years, but Kobe also needed Shaq to win and it was an unforced error on his part to help push Shaq out. Putting together a winning team was harder than he realized.

Shaq of course is the #1 person responsible for getting Shaq traded. Pure ego on display there, nothing else. "Now you gonna pay me?" Through the Lakers Shaq got everything he always wanted: titles, MVPs, 9 figure contracts, world fame and extremely high status in LA, the stage of the world. Shaq threw it all away over a practically irrelevant contract dispute that he helped engineer because he felt disrespected not to be offered more. Shaq could have won 2 or 3 more titles with the Lakers if he could have shared the spotlight with Kobe as equals by 2003. Shaq could have not ended his career wandering around the East burning one town after another. Shaq could have taken proper care of his body and worked with Phil to retain effectiveness. The awesome condition Shaq showed off when he arrived in Miami was meant to be an affront against the Lakers but really said it all about how bloated his ego had become. If he had done that work in 2003 everything could have been different.

Shaq was hurt in 2003, I'm not sure why history is being changed to suggest Shaq was the best player, because no one thought that back then. 2003 is regarded as when Kobe was the better player, and it was also a big reason why the duo broke up. 03 is the season Kobe had that streak, and was a 2-way monster.

Even on Realgm where Kobe is generally hated, he was voted higher than Shaq in 2003 during the POY project.

I thought that back then

Maybe in his own head but not in reality.

Shaq put 34 PER in March. His FT% finally up to 65%.

I agree Kobe was the Laker's best player im 2003. 2003 is when their fued reached its peak. Shaq healing on company time pushes Kobe more into the spotlight than he has ever been. When Shaq came back he didnt like the fact that Kobe was outshining him.

If Shaq took care of his surgery in the offseason and was in shape when the season started maybe things wouldve been different. Maybe the Lakers win that year.

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Cavsfansince84 wrote:I think the better poll would be in which year Kobe actually surpassed Shaq.

Well even if you think Kobe was better in 2003 the answer would be 2006 because Shaq was clearly better in 04 and 05.

I think you can make a case Kobe was better than Shaq in 2004. Except for the NBA Finals that year.



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Its very close. U can make a case for either. I would say they were 1A & 1B, both equal. Kobe was more durable & available(played 82 games) on company time.

Blazers-1977 wrote:

Cavsfansince84 wrote:I think the better poll would be in which year Kobe actually surpassed Shaq.

Well even if you think Kobe was better in 2003 the answer would be 2006 because Shaq was clearly better in 04 and 05.

Some might argue Shaq was still better in 06.

Cavsfansince84 wrote:

Blazers-1977 wrote:

Cavsfansince84 wrote:I think the better poll would be in which year Kobe actually surpassed Shaq.

Well even if you think Kobe was better in 2003 the answer would be 2006 because Shaq was clearly better in 04 and 05.

Some might argue Shaq was still better in 06.

For 06 there is literally no argument for Shaq being the better of the two. Kobe was clearly better that year and its not even close for that season .