lakerevolution wrote:And should have Threepeated with Pau as well, but they were not as prepared as the Celtics' Big 3 1/2. I already told you about my chat with Brian Shaw -- Shaq wasn't the only one on that team who thought Kobe was an aloof, spoiled brat, ball-hogging diva. As group dynamics go, Kobe's isolationist personality has definitely earned him all the negative press and commentary from overzealous haters. Shaq, on the other hand, has played-up his larger-than-life persona across the NBA, in a more commercialized way than Kobe ever would - which goes over well in dumbed-down mainstream media but will never sit well with fans like me.
I think Kobe just wanted to prove he can win a Championship without Shaq because the media was giving Shaq most of the credit for that 3Peat. A lot of fans were as well. That is how competitive Kobe is, I am sure Kobe's thinking was - I will never get the credit I deserve and be recognized as a Top 10 player of all-time until I win it all when ITS MY TEAM. I even admit, I looked at Kobe differently when we won in 2009.