Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant Had Unique Strategy During NBA Finals Dominance

June 12, 2002; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; (left to right) Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal hold trophies after winning the championship in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at The Meadowlands. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY via Ima

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had a strategy when they led the Los Angeles Lakers to three straight NBA titles in the early 2000s.

O’Neal explained during a recent appearance on his podcast. The two All-Stars basically took turns dominating the game.

“It’s like the first three quarters, give me the (bleeping) ball,” O’Neal said. “Let me do what I’m gonna do. Let me get us in the penalty. And the because I’m not a great free throw shooter, fourth quarter, I’ll step back and you (Bryant) do what you do.”

Although O’Neal was named Finals MVP after each of the titles, Bryant was just as responsible for the victories. He was sort of the closer after O’Neal set the tone.

O’Neal said Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2020, would have won the MVP trophy if it weren’t for the strategy. Bryant later got his chance when he led the Lakers to two more titles in 2009 and 2010.

“He sacrificed, he did,” O’Neal said of Bryant. “All of those Finals, where he helped me win a championship, he damn sure could’ve easily got Finals MVP. That was our plan, Big Dog get you for the first three and the fourth (Bryant) takes over.”