why Kobe and Shaq are the greatest duo of all time

[kennethgriffin]

THIS is why kobe and shaq are the greatest duo of all time?

please please please ban this guy

you beg for this every time i post?

you mad brah?


jordan needed pippen. without him he has 0 rings

kobe didnt need anyone

proven fact


kobe with an above average kick stand... wins back 2 back titles

[Myth]

kobe didnt need anyone

proven fact

I don't seem to recall him winning without a team. I also recall him getting bailed out by teammates in the Finals.

Anyway:
1. Jordan
2. Shaq (prime)
3a. Magic
3b. Kareem (early 80s)
5. Kobe
6. Pippen
It all kind of equals out.

[Myth]

Also, this is "greatest duo," not "best individuals that at some point were paired up," so all that really matters is Jordan/Pippen's 6 > Kareem/Magic's 5 > Kobe/Shaq's 3. When looking at duos, all that matters is what they did together, not what they did apart.

Otherwise you could make the (ridiculous) argument that Kobe and Rodman were a better duo because Kobe has 5 rings without Rodman while Rodman has 5 rings without Kobe.

[ShaqAttack3234]

As far as the duos at their peak, Shaq/Kobe was the best, imo. The inside/outside combination and the fact that Shaq was the best player in the league while Kobe was arguably the 2nd best, and at worst 3rd best in '01 and '02, imo. Those 2 seasons are probably the best case you can make for a team having the 2 best players in the league at the same time.

I wonder how great Jordan and Pippen would have been had they added Payton and Malone to their team.

If Malone missed half the season and pretty much couldn't play in the finals, and Payton was on the downside of his career averaging 8 ppg on 37% and 4 ppg in the finals while Billups torched him for 21 ppg?

[Greg Oden 50]

this is why people should be saying "jordan needed pippen to win"

kobe never "needed" anyone

he got it done with an above average big man that didnt play defense or rebound all that well


jordan had a supreme play making all around defensive legend that could post up, dunk on people and hit threes, then defend 4 positions

pippen is a legend

kobe won without a hof'r TWICE

kobe won nothing without fisher

[fsvr54]

How has no one mentioned that Kareem went to TWO finals without Magic, not one. He was one win away from a 2nd ring in 1974.

[ShaqAttack3234]

How has no one mentioned that Kareem went to TWO finals without Magic, not one. He was one win away from a 2nd ring in 1974.

Yeah, and it went 7 because Kareem hit one of the clutchest shots of all-time. Kareem had to carry that Buck team a lot as well since Lucius Allen(18/4/5 player) was out for the playoffs and Oscar was in his last season.

[AirFederer]

OP is The Stephen Hawkings of ISH


Without his brains

[longtime lurker]

OP has a point Shaq and Kobe have to be considered one of the NBA's greatest duos. The only other two that can challenge them would be Kareem and Magic. Interesting though that Kobe said Jordan and Pippen were the best though.

[guy]

Stuff like this never made any sense to me. Correlation doesn't imply causation. It's not like the Bulls were ever in a position to succeed before Scottie was drafted. They were a young team, with coaches coming in and out. By the time Scottie joined the team, Jordan had gotten better, Collins was beginning his second year with the team; they were just in a better place.

From then on, Jordan played his entire career with Scottie, the Wizards years notwithstanding. If Scottie WAS on those Washington teams, do they make the Finals? Of course not. So it does nothing to say Jordan failed to make it without him. He simply wasn't in a position where he could do much of anything to get that team to a Finals series.

Arguments like this, and the classic "Jordan never won without Scottie," are just stupid. Just because things lined up doesn't mean they were the cause of one another.

The Magic/Kareem thing you pointed out doesn't mean jack sh*t for Magic's side, either. Magic played his entire career with Kareem except for like 2 years (again, comeback year notwithstanding. The Lakers weren't in a position to contend in 96). Magic makes the Finals 50% of the time without Kareem when his teams are in a position to succeed, and you somehow hold that against him?

I won't comment on Kareem because I honestly don't know much about his career pre-Lakers.

Meanwhile, Kobe and Shaq both had ample opportunities after parting with one another to contend, way more than Jordan and Pippen did.

After 2004, the Lakers had the teams to contend in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Kobe made the Finals three of those years, got swept in the second round in one, lost in the second in 5 games in the next one, and looks like he won't make it out of the first this year (won't make the Finals, anyway).

Shaq was in a position to contend in 2005, 2006, 2007, and maybe 2010 with the Cavs. He made the Finals once, came close in 2005, but dropped the ball in 2007 (granted, injuries and all that) and by 2010 he really just didn't have enough impact on a team.

Scottie had a good chance that first year in Portland, and he lost to the Lakers. The next three years, I don't think anyone had them confused for a championship caliber team. Maybe that second year, but it's a stretch.

So, while I don't necessarily disagree with the contention that Shaq and Kobe are the best duo, this is, by far, the dumbest way of quantifying that. I'm in awe at how utterly retarded and devoid of logic this is. It's incredible how feeble-minded you can be at times.

I've been saying this forever. The Jordan not winning without Pippen argument might literally be the dumbest one here.

[Legends66NBA7]

I've been saying this forever. The Jordan not winning without Pippen argument might literally be the dumbest one here.

Not far away from "___ didn't win rings because he ran into Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 90's".

[kennethgriffin]

I've been saying this forever. The Jordan not winning without Pippen argument might literally be the dumbest one here.

pippens a legend, can defend 4 positions, top 5 all around 2 way player ever

jordan doesnt have a winning season without him... let alone a finals or ring

[MetsPackers]

Wow rock solid logic in the OP. Not like who your teammates are has anything to do with winning championships...

Shyt like this is why ISH has completely gone to hell over the last few months

[esiotrot]

deer kennygriffith

pls kall me,

love
tortoise

<3

[tomkiddo91]

How is this guy not banned...

He's basically the same amount of idiot as ripthekik...