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Current NBA champions LA Lakers are the most storied basketball franchise in the league. The Staples Center has been home to many all-time greats, but the LA Lakers are known for their rich history of dominant duos.
In this article, we take a look at the current champions LeBron James and Anthony Davis and compare them to the legendary duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made the LA Lakers one of the defining teams of the 2000s. They won three back to back championships together and were a truly unstoppable one-two punch.
The guard and big man combo worked perfectly as one dominated in the post while the other cut through lanes to get easy buckets. They did have their issues off-court, but that’s a topic for another day. Let’s take a step back and how all of this came about.
The summer of 1996 might be the most important one in the LA Lakers’ history. During that summer, they acquired arguably the two most dominant players in Lakers history. First, they completed the now infamous trade in which the Charlotte Hornets traded the 13th pick in the 1996 draft to the LA Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. That pick was Kobe Bryant, who went on to become one of the 10 greatest players in NBA History.
After 1996, the Lakers had a strong core of two budding superstars on their roster. The Chicago Bulls lead by Michael Jordan were still dominating the league, but their time was almost up, and LA was gearing up to become the next dynasty to take over the NBA.
LA Lakers only got past the first round of the playoffs in the first three years that Shaq and Kobe were together, but in year four a breakthrough occurred.
In the year 2000, led by league MVP Shaquille O’Neal, the LA Lakers made their first Finals appearance since 1991. With O'Neal at the peak of his prime and Kobe as the emerging superstar, LA Lakers fans were witnessing greatness like never before. In a closely contested series, they defeated the Indiana Pacers and claimed their first title since 1989. But this was only the beginning of a generation-defining dynasty, and what came next makes the Kobe-Shaq duo the greatest in NBA History.
As teammates, the duo averaged astronomical numbers. In 2001 they had their best statistical year with Kobe averaging 28.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from the 3 point line. Similarly, O'Neal put up 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 57.2 percent from the field and 51.2 from the free-throw line.
Apart from being named to the All-Star team, they made the all NBA defensive 2nd team and were honored with an all NBA team selection as O'Neal made the first team and Kobe made the second team. The 2001 season ended with The Lakers grabbed the second seed in the Western Conference and cemented their legacy with one of the greatest playoff runs any team has ever had. LA Lakers went 15-1 on their quest for a second straight championship.
Their post seasons numbers were equally as astounding as their regular-season numbers. Kobe averaged 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, while Shaq was even more impressive with 30.4 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists.
They were by far the most dominant duo in the history of the NBA. They complimented each other perfectly. When one was out of rhythm the other stepped up to take over the game and win it for the team. LA Lakers had the best show in town for a better part of a decade, and they still relish every moment of it.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have had one of the toughest roads to the NBA championship in the history of the NBA. With only a year under their belt, they have already established themselves as one of the all-time great LA Lakers duos.
With the pandemic looming and the league shutting down abruptly, the duo faced a unique scenario, for which no one was prepared.
Then in January LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, turning the Staples Center into a memorial site.
Before this there was an incident in China as the players were confined to their hotel, unable to play when an international political and economic squabble started over a tweet.
This year has been tough but the LA Lakers have managed to conquer all adversity and become champions. Lebron and AD were the leaders of their team on and off-court.
The LA Lakers held on to the number one seed in the West throughout the season. During the regular season, LeBron James averaged 25.3 points per game and lead the league in assists with 10.2 assists a game. He was an MVP candidate and finished 2nd in regular-season MVP voting.
Anthony Davis was a defensive monster throughout the season and was a top 3 candidate for the defensive player of the year. For the regular season, he averaged 26.1 points and 2.3 blocks per game for LA Lakers.
Both Davis and LeBron were selected for the all-star game and were part of the All NBA first team, with Anthony Davis being part of the NBA defensive first team as well. This was a historic season with two of the top 5 players in the league playing for the LA Lakers.
The team had a shaky start in the bubble, but regrouped quickly and got in sync for the playoffs. They dominated the Western Conference. When the Denver Nuggets knocked out the LA Clippers, it was clear that the LA Lakers were now the favorites to win it all.
They reached the NBA finals without much of a challenge but had to face the Miami Heat who seemed to be a tough challenge for AD and LeBron. Even as injury upon injury crippled the heat, they competed under the leadership of Jimmy Butler, who willed the team to two wins in the NBA Finals. The LA Lakers got the job done in game 6 and became the 2020 NBA champions.
Lebron James & Anthony Davis vs Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O'Neal: Which was the better duo for the LA Lakers?
There is no doubt that Kobe and Shaq were more dominant than LeBron and AD. Although the current champions can boast about winning the weirdest championship in the history of the NBA, they are not yet close when compared to the accomplishments of Kobe and Shaq. Shaq and Kobe won 3 rings, went to 4 straight finals, and had the most dominant championship run in LA Lakers history.
It's still early days for the LeBron-AD partnership, though, and the LA Lakers look has only gotten better in the offseason. Perhaps LeBron and Anthony Davis can emerge as the most dominant duo in NBA and Lakers history, but it's going to take some doing.
