"I want Kobe to be MVP. I'm going to stay on him, keep giving it to him" - When Shaq became tired of Kobe being disregarded in the MVP conversation

Yahoo

17-07-2025

"I want Kobe to be MVP. I'm going to stay on him, keep giving it to him" - When Shaq became tired of Kobe being disregarded in the MVP conversation originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Los Angeles Lakers icons Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal entered the 2001-02 season with one thing in mind: to defend their NBA Championship once again. The two basketball titans guided the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001.
Snagging one more chip to complete the three-peat would propel them to the pantheon of the greatest NBA teams in history.
Campaigning for Kobe
Interestingly, O'Neal also had another goal that season: to help his running mate win his first MVP trophy. Shaq snagged his MVP award in 1999 and was considered one of the top players of his generation. As he welcomed a new season, Diesel wanted Bryant to reach the pinnacle, too.
"I want my boy to get it this year," O'Neal said in 2001, via the Los Angeles Times. "I want Kobe to be the MVP. I'm going to stay on him, keep giving it to him. It's his turn. I had my turn. I had a lot of turns. I got one. He doesn't know this, but I want him to get it."
At that time, the NBA was packed with some of history's best guards and forwards. Players like Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, and Ray Allen were well within their primes. Kobe was also one of the best guards then, but Shaq was so dominant that many felt the Philly native was just riding the center's coattails.
"I'm tired of people talking about everybody else, like Kobe doesn't even exist," Shaq said. "People talk about Michael [Jordan], Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, those guys. Forget that. My boy is a force to be reckoned with. I'm going to be his big bully, give him a chance to run around and do what he does."
Upon discovering Shaq's grand plans for him, Bryant claimed winning MVP was not part of his bucket list.
"I don't know what to say," Kobe said quietly. "I think it's everybody's dream, but it's not one of my goals."
Unfortunately, Bryant failed to capture the 2002 MVP award. He finished in fifth place behind Tracy McGrady, Shaq, Jason Kidd, and the winner, Tim Duncan. This was an improvement from the previous year's ninth-place finish. Perhaps O'Neal's early campaigning worked.Sacrifice
Bryant would win his first MVP trophy six years later in 2008, when he guided the Lakers to a stellar 57-25 record. They made it to the NBA Finals but lost to their archrival, the Boston Celtics. But Kobe bounced back and won his fourth and fifth rings in 2009 and 2010.
Although Kobe has five rings and a slew of individual accolades, many wonder why he only won one MVP award. In 2015, Bryant reiterated that his goal in basketball was never to collect MVP trophies, but he did hint that he should've won more than one.
"Well, because the media votes on it," Bryant said. "I mean, it was never a mission of mine to win a bunch of MVPs; it was to win a lot of championships. But that being said, does it bother me? Yeah, it bothers me. Of course, it bothers me."
Whatever the case may be, his lack of MVP awards never diminished his stature. Many fans still consider him one of the GOATs who forever changed the way the game is played and further propelled the NBA into a global phenomenon.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.