The Los Angeles Lakers created a dynasty in the early 2000s that was among the best the NBA has ever seen, led by the duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Under the guidance of head coach Phil Jackson, Shaq and Kobe partnered together to win three straight championships from 2000-02. They were arguably the great duo the NBA has ever seen, even though their time together was cut short due to their differences off the court.
Since O’Neal and Bryant dominated the league, many other teams have tried to capture what they had in a guard-center combo, although few have succeeded.
The latest attempt is the Philadephia 76ers after they traded Ben Simmons in a package to acquire James Harden to pair with Joel Embiid.
The 76ers got off to a hot start after the trade, which prompted many people to call Embiid and Harden the next Shaq and Kobe. It ultimately didn’t end up how they had hoped though as the 76ers were just eliminated in the second round by the Miami Heat.
After their disappointing exit, O’Neal himself took to Instagram to share a meme saying that Harden and Embiid shouldn’t be compared to him and Bryant, who he believes is the only ‘superduo’ every created:
While Shaq may be right that he and Bryant are the best duo in NBA history, there have been some other pairings in NBA history that could be considered super. In the Lakers franchise alone, there have been duos such as Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and most recently, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Shaq open to season two of ‘Winning Time’ featuring him and Bryant’s era
Everyone just saw how great the Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar duo was right away on the first season of HBO’s hit series ‘Winning Time.’
The show was recently renewed for a second season and although they will likely stick with the ‘Showtime’ Lakers era for a while longer, O’neal is open to them eventually doing a season on his and Bryant’s era.
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