Shaq O'Neal played crucial role in Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers to 2009 title, claims NBA champion

The Los Angeles Lakers experienced an unforgettable era during the years Kobe Bryant led the team. The former shooting guard was a key figure for the organization throughout his 20-year career in the NBA, capturing five championships. Three of those titles came with Shaquille O’Neal alongside him, but after Shaq’s departure, Bryant continued to play an essential role, as highlighted by a former teammate.

In a recent interview on Podcast P, Derek Fisher reflected on his time with Bryant on the Lakers, before the team went on to win the 2009 and 2010 titles. “I don’t think he ever, at least to me, openly talked about this, ‘We need to do this without Shaq in order for… our own internal drive to be great,’” Fisher began.

“At the same time, I’m not stupid. I knew that was a significant part of what was driving him,” the former point guard acknowledged, revealing that one of Bryant’s primary motivations was proving he could win without O’Neal on the team.

“When we got to the cusp of winning the title in ’09, like, yeah, you know, the Shaq energy of winning one without Shaq is there,” Fisher added. “More of that was media-driven than something Kobe liked carrying around every day, even though you knew in the back of his mind it was there.”

Kobe Bryant talks with Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers during their game against the Sacramento Kings on November 3, 2010.

Shaq wasn’t the only thing on Kobe’s mind

Derek Fisher also emphasized that there were other significant motivations for Kobe Bryant as he entered the 2008-09 season. “I knew that wasn’t the only thing driving him,” Fisher said. “Part of it in ’09 was also the loss to the Boston Celtics in ’08,” referring to the Celtics’ Finals victory over the Lakers that year.

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“By the time we got back together to start training camp in ’08 going into ’09, it’s hard to describe, bro, how… you know those stories of how Magic (Johnson) and Larry Bird talked about how they would wake up the next morning and read the paper to see what the other one did? That’s how much we were paying attention to what the Boston Celtics were doing,” Fisher acknowledged. “We were obsessed with the Celtics… like, ‘Bro, they got us in ’08, cool, enjoy your title, but that will never happen again.’”

Bryant and O’Neal shined together

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal formed one of the most successful duos of their generation. They shared leadership duties on the court during their eight seasons together with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002.

However, it was O’Neal who garnered most of the accolades. The former center was named league MVP in 2000 and Finals MVP in each of the three championship years. Following the fallout that led to O’Neal’s departure from Los Angeles, he joined the Miami Heat and led them to their first NBA title in 2006.

Given this context, it’s clear that Kobe Bryant needed to prove his worth by leading the Lakers to the pinnacle of the NBA as the team’s undisputed leader. He ultimately did so, winning back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, earning league MVP honors once and Finals MVP twice.