How valuable was Kobe to the championship Lakers....

[tha_rock220]

Could he be replaced by the likes of Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, or Paul Pierce and the result still be the Lakers winning 3 straight titles??? I think the whole world knows that Shaq was the biggest reason for the Lakers titles, but how big was Kobe????

[ImmortalD24]

This topic has been beaten to death...

No Kobe was the 2nd best player in the league at that time, all of those players you've listed don't even come close to Kobe's clutchness, defense, and competitiveness.

[tkb]

I think we would've at least won 1 championship with a couple of those players. Possibly even 2, but I don't think we would've 3peated without Kobe. He was extremely important in the western playoffs runs.

[JordansBulls]

Could he be replaced by the likes of Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, or Paul Pierce and the result still be the Lakers winning 3 straight titles??? I think the whole world knows that Shaq was the biggest reason for the Lakers titles, but how big was Kobe????

With Iverson maybe 2, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce 2 as well. Ray Allen 1 and T-mac 3. T-mac was more efficient and this is just the honest truth.

[kooldude]

-= original quote snipped =-



With Iverson maybe 2, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce 2 as well. Ray Allen 1 and T-mac 3. T-mac was more efficient and this is just the honest truth.

Tmac TS%:

'00: .509
'01: .521
'02: .532

Kobe TS%:

'00: .546
'01: .552
'02: .544

Tmac '00 to '02: No All-D teams
Kobe: '00 to '02: 2 1st Team All-D, 1 2nd Team All-D


You telling us that the '00 Tmac with a 15PPG output and worse defense will probably the same result?

[NetsForce]

Shaq really dominated the finals year in and year out but many people forget the shots and plays Kobe had to make to allow the Lakers to get out of the lesser rounds (to be fair it wasn't just Kobe though, Fisher, Horry, and even Fox chipped in considerably to those championships as well).

[conleyorbust]

Probably could have gotten one or two. Course' you don't know how different guys would have played in that situation. Maybe Iverson wouldn't have been able to reign in his chucking at that point in his career... then again maybe VC would have lived up to his potential if he has been able to play at that level instead of being asked to carry a franchise.

[kooldude]

if VC lived up to his potential, they would have won it every year.

[LALakers4ever]

Replace Shaq with Duncan, KG, and how many titles would LA have won?

[Magz50]

If it was Duncan they would of won 5 straight.

[Seanman]

What is the point of this thread?

[Jules Winnfield]

They would've won 0 without Kobe Bryant. Seriously.

In 99-00, no way the Lakers win 67 games with Iverson. Kobe was 1st team defense and he was the guy that was the catalyst for the game 7 comeback against the Blazers.

00-01, Lakers went 15-1 in the playoffs. Phil Jackson said a week ago that Kobe played the best ball of his career the last 9 games and the playoffs. Kobe played phenomenal defense on AI in the finals and was fantastic. Kobe's stats in the playoffs: 29.4/7.3/6.1 and that's playing all world defense at the same time.

01-02, Comon...are you serious....Mr. Clutch. GTFO.


This is why I LOL at people who try to denigrate Kobe's chips.

He ran the offense. He WAS the facilitator. No-one...not wade, not penny ever gave Shaq more easy looks. No one knew how to make post entry passes to shaq in position like kobe.

Kobe was the second best scorer, the best defender (all league), the best passer (led the team in assists), the best closer (in the league), and the facilitator of the offense of three straight championship teams. That is not a small contribution.

Shaq was the most dominant, but Kobe did the little things like close out playoff games, guard the best opposing scorer (unless a PF or C), lead comebacks, get important rebounds (remember Portland offensive rebound putback?), keep his team's intensity level high, etc etc.

So yeah replace Kobe with any 2 guard and they don't win any of those championships imo. Not through 00-02. Maybe when the league got weaker or if they were in the East.

[Jules Winnfield]

Replace Shaq with Duncan, KG, and how many titles would LA have won?

Um, they'd still be winning. Kobe didn't respect shaq because shaq was fat and out of shape and didn't play defense.

Kobe respects TD's approach and him and KG are great friends. They'd still be winning.

The rub is that TD doesn't need a Kobe to win. He just needs solid guys who buy into the system to compliment him.

KG is gonna wish he got traded to the Lakers come June when we rip his heart out and step on it.

[Chris435]

There isn't anyone else that I can think of that would have supported Shaq the way he did to a 3 peat. Kobe came up huge in the playoffs. I still voted that the Lakers during that period could have won at least once if you added someone like Ray Allen to the roster.

He was just an important piece to defeating the Blazers and the Kings.

[guy1]

I say yes. Replace Kobe with AI, T-mac, or VC and they win just as much, maybe even more if they got along with Shaq. They might've not been just as good, but I think they would've been enough to win. Another thing with T-mac is that people say T-mac wasn't that good of a defender, but he was a great defender when he wanted to be. And with much better offensive weapons around him, like Shaq, he could focus more on defense instead of spending so much energy on offense.

Still like other people have said, if you replace Shaq with Duncan or Garnett, they would've won just as much as well. I'm not sure about KG though, cause I think they would've lost a series or two to the Spurs or Kings then.

[pewing33ny]

i think a shaq/othella harrington combo would have been more deadly. or a twin towers with shaq/todd mccullough

[Frosty]

We've already seen shaq win with Wade so the concept isn't a stretch. There were some series where Kobe was a bigger factor then Shaq but overall Shaq was a very consistent beast in the playoffs. I think most top tier swingmen could manage to pick up their production in the occasional series since they are already use to being the key focus of opposition D and would likely love the attention that Shaq draws.

[hermes]

i doubt they would have gotten three in a row, at least one though

[CB4MiamiHeat]

First season he was somewhat playing the Ginobili role, thats how dominant Shaq was that year.The next 2 seasons Kobe was clearly a top 5 player and a huge reason they won.

They couldve threepeated with AI and Tmac..but not with Pierce, Allen, or Vince.

[Harry Heinous]

it would of been a 5-peat with Wade. 2000-04