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When Shaquille O'Neal Called Kobe Bryant 'Best in the League' After He Scored 45 Points Against Spurs in 2001 WCF
Shaquille O'Neal was a force to reckon with during his NBA days, but there was a time when he felt that Kobe Bryant was the best player in the league.
If the Los Angeles Lakers needed him to, Kobe Bryant could score whenever he got the chance. Throughout his Hall of Fame career, the Black Mamba experienced several high-scoring games. One such instance occurred in 2001 during the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
In that game, Kobe scored 45 points to help the Lakers win 104-90. At the time, it was the Lakers' 16th straight victory. Furthermore, it gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Shaquille O'Neal, who finished with 28 points and 18 rebounds, offered assistance. "The Diesel" gave Bryant a unique compliment on his performance following the victory. The 7-foot-1 player thought Kobe would be difficult to stop, particularly if he found his scoring rhythm.
"Kobe's been playing phenomenal," O'Neal said via UPI. "He's the best player in the league by far, especially when he's playing like that."
The accomplishment was noteworthy given that the 13th overall pick had to compete with Tim Duncan and David Robinson, San Antonio's twin towers. Kobe acknowledged, though, that he was able to read the Spurs' defense well and refrained from being intimidated by the two extremely tall players.
"Their entire defensive strategy consists of pushing players into the middle and attempting to contain situations there. I'll take it straight to them," declared the 6-foot-6 guard. Even with his extravagant scoring, Kobe didn't take all the plaudits. He discussed the team's preparation for the Spurs and the significance of riding the momentum of the 1999 NBA champions. "We're just taking care of business," Bryant remarked.
The Western Conference Finals got underway with that first-round victory. The Lakers would go to the NBA Finals by sweeping San Antonio. They had yet to lose a playoff game at that point. Their winning streak in postseason play came to an end when they lost 107-101 in overtime to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game One of the 2001 NBA Finals. But that would be the only postseason game the Lakers lost in 2001. LA would resurrect and win four games in a row to take home the 2001 championship, capping off back-to-back championship runs.
Most people would anticipate Kobe to be joyful and jubilant following his second consecutive NBA ring. Rather, it was discovered that Vino had been occupied with a private matter. Joe and Pam, his parents, disagreed with him and did not support his union with Vanessa Laine (Bryant).
When Kobe and Vanessa got married in April 2001, the parents of the Lakers star were not present. They both opposed the union, supposedly because Kobe married outside of their African American community and he was very young.
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