Don t call him the second leader! Revealing the underestimated role of Kobe s "Brother Stone" during his three consecutive championships

Frequently, fans say that Kobe's three consecutive championships are all due to O'Neal's "winning". If he only focuses on the FMVP trophy and inside data, he will not understand the true core of the Lakers dynasty at all. Without Kobe, O'Neal's dominance would only be "unable tone". The legend of three consecutive championships came to an abrupt end as early as the breakout in the Western Conference.

The Lakers in 2000 just kicked off the dynasty. At that time, 21-year-old Kobe was still young, but he had become the team's "savior of adversity". In the Western Conference Finals, O'Neal was in a foul trouble and scored only 18 points in the game. Kobe scored 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists against Pippen's defense. He shook the defense and assisted O'Neal at the last moment to complete the all-time finals, pulling the Lakers back from the edge of the cliff where he was 15 points behind. When he was in the finals against the Pacers, Kobe Bryant was injured in G2 and only played for 9 minutes. The Lakers immediately fell into a passive position. He returned from G4 with an injury and scored 22 points in the second half overtime. He completely defeated his opponent's confidence with a finals. Fisher said bluntly after the game, "He wrote his name into the legend of the finals." His average of 15.6 points per game in the finals this year is indeed far less than O'Neal's 38 points, but those tenacity and key ball abilities in combat with injuries have long surpassed the meaning of simple scoring.

In 2001, Kobe had completed his transformation, evolving from a "helper" to a dual-core that was on par with O'Neal. In the playoffs, he averaged 31.6 points per game, 2.4 points higher than O'Neal. He scored 42 points and 11.5 rebounds away in two away games against the Kings in the Western Conference semi-finals. He averaged 33.3 points against the Spurs' double towers, and scored 43 points and 10 rebounds in the first game, which made Popovich sigh, "his growth is too amazing." In the finals, the outside world only remembered Iverson's 48 points, but forgot that Kobe defended Iverson frequently and missed the ball on the defensive end, and also sent 3 blocks and 7 blocks that made Iverson unable to receive the ball. O'Neal admitted at the time that "Bryant is the best player in the league", which is by no means a polite statement - when the opponent is busy double-teaming the Sharks in the inside, it was Kobe who used the outside to break up all the defensive traps.

In 2002, Kobe completely became a "key ball harvester", and his dominance on both ends of offense and defense made the Lakers dynasty indestructible. In the Western Conference Finals, he scored 30 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and scored a quasi-triple double-digit data, and G4 also hit a decisive three-pointer, dragging the Lakers, who were behind 2-3, back from the brink of elimination. In the finals, Kobe averaged 26.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 51.4%, and his three-point shooting percentage soared to 54.5%. His offensive and defensive efficiency completely suppressed his opponents. Such performance is no longer something that the "second leader" can summarize.

Many people are misled by the simple narrative of "Sharks are in the inside, Kobe is in the outside", but they ignore the essential logic of the basketball game: O'Neal's inside dominance needs to be restrained from the outside, while Kobe's off-ball running, back-to-body singles and key ball ability make the opponent dare not double-team the Shark easily. During the three consecutive championships, Kobe was selected for the best defensive lineup in a row. His unlimited defense swaps and external locks have built the strongest defense line for the Lakers, which is a value that cannot be fully quantified by data. Jackson once said that he asked Kobe to take into account both scoring, organization and defense, and Kobe did this perfectly. This kind of versatility is the scariest trait of the dynasty team.

said Kobe is the "second leader" person, and he probably has never seen him turning the tide again and again in the Western battlefield. Without Kobe's growth, the Lakers are at best a replica of the 90s Magic. Without him, the Lakers could not overcome the tenacity of the Trail Blazers, could not resist the Spurs' iron blood, and could not overcome the king's encirclement. O'Neal is the facade of the dynasty, but Kobe is the cornerstone that makes the facade stand.