Kobe Bryant - Michael Jordan comparisons will never die.
The two has been pitted by fans against each other in terms of accomplishments ever since the Black Mamba debut in NBA with Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. Kobe is driven by his desire to win his sixth ring, the same number that Jordan has on his hands.
For Shaquille O'Neal, he and Kobe Bryant could have tied Michael Jordan's record in 2000s era had they not separated.
"I think we could have probably tied Mike, or surpassed Mike. I guess six," Shaquill O'Neal said during an appearance at The Rich Eisen Show.
"Everybody talks about Bill Russell's 11; no player will ever come along that will win 11 championships unless they reduce the league to 10 teams. So you shouldn't even bring Bill up. So now Mike, when you talk about the pinnacles of championships you always gotta go with Mike. So Mike has six. I think we could have either tied that or got that. But if 'if' was a fifth we'd all be drunk, Susan."
Shaq left the Los Angeles Lakers after winning three championships with them in early 2000s. Kobe Bryant won his fourth and fifth in 2009 and 2010 after deciding to stay with the team in 2004 when Shaq left.
Kobe Bryant - Michael Jordan comparisons intensified after the former won his fifth. However, with the way Los Angeles Lakers' campaign is going, some argue that Kobe will be content with five rings.
While Kobe Bryant - Michael Jordan comparisons seem to have died down in the past years, it is the Shaq-Kobe tandem that is making round the news lately but for good reasons. This is because the two appeared together at "The Big Podcast with Shaq" where they answered questions about their 'failed friendship' during their heydays.
There, Shaq said he hated it when Kobe won his fifth ring to surpass his four. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, said Shaq winning his fourth championship with Miami Heat motivated him.
"I knew it was going to push me more," he said. "I always wanted to get where Magic was, to where Michael was, so four wasn't something that was on my radar. It pushed me even more. It drove me even more. So when I got five [rings], I couldn't help but turn the knife a little bit."
