According to NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, the late, great Kobe Bryant would have been quite proud of his beloved Los Angeles Lakers winning the franchise's 17th NBA championship.
With superstar forward LeBron James and former New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis leading Los Angeles to a title down in Orlando as a result of the 2019-20 campaign, O'Neal knows that Bryant would have supported the Lakers all the way to yet another Larry O'Brien Trophy.
“After all that we went through [in 2020], it was a good ending for them to win the championship,” O'Neal recently told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I am sure if [Bryant] was still here, he would definitely be proud and showing his love and support on social media.”
Bryant was tragically killed in a helicopter crash back in January while his passing was only the beginning of what would ultimately become quite the tumultuous year in 2020. While the Lakers—and Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers—capturing a title definitely served as some sort of bittersweet taste for fans of both the team and Bryant, it would have been quite the sight to see what a traditional celebration following the NBA bubble would have looked like in Southern California.
The Lakers would have no doubt honored Bryant in a major way while the City of Los Angeles has yet to stop celebrating his life ever since his passing earlier this year.
The Lakers had not won a title since 2010 with Bryant, who hung up his sneakers for good following the 2015-16 season.
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