Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal won three straight titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, but Bryant believes the San Antonio Spurs stopped them from winning seven more.
Bryant was the latest guest on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's Showtime Show called “All The Smoke.” The Lakers legend talked about the Spurs and how they were just so tough to beat once the playoffs started:
“San Antonio was tough,” Bryant said, via News4AanAntonio.com. “They were tough and when the playoffs came around, it wasn't like Shaq and I weren't on the same page. We just got beat. The bigger question should be, ‘How many would we have won if the Spurs weren't the Spurs?' We would have ran the table for a decade. The talent, the coaching, everything in San Antonio was kind of a perfect storm. If they weren't in the picture we probably would have run 10 in a row.”
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In 1,346 career games for the Lakers, Bryant cemented himself as the greatest Laker of all-time. He holds career averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard was an 18-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, 15-time All-NBA team member, two-time Finals MVP and five-time champion with the Purple and Gold.
Bryant is the third-leading scoring in NBA history. Some pundits point to his inefficient shooting numbers as to why Kobe is not higher on their all-time lists. At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but players who played against Bryant know exactly what Kobe brought to the table every night.
The Lakers retired Bryant’s No. 8 and 24 jersey. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day and always be number one in the hearts of Lakers fans.
Tim Duncan won five rings with the Spurs, but never captured a back-to-back title.
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