Every player who plays in the NBA dreams of that one day where they can raise the Larry O’Brien trophy and say that they are NBA champions. Many of the greatest ever didn’t have the opportunity win one ring, but Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has been fortunate enough to win five rings.
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Kobe, however, is a maniacal competitor who wants to win every single time he is on the court. In an NBA TV Interview with Ahmad Rashad, Kobe was asked to put his five championships in perspective. Kobe, instead, was still unhappy that he didn’t win more via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
Kobe on his 5 NBA titles: "I should have 7." Lakers lost in '04 to Detroit & in '08 to Boston
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 17, 2015
Those two losses in the NBA Finals still eat at Bryant to this day. He spoke about the loss to the Boston Celtics in 2008 as being the toughest one he has ever experienced in his career. The one in 2004 to the Detroit Pistons was likely the more shocking one as the Lakers boasted four current or future Hall of Famers and were expected to dominate.
As someone who has always been compared to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, those extra two championships would make for an entirely different debate as to who’s better. As it stands, Bryant’s five rings are still an outstanding accomplishment and Lakers fans everywhere are extremely grateful for everything Kobe has brought to the franchise.
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