Kobe Bryant
4 Titles
1 MVP
2 Scoring Titles
1 Finals MVP
When history is written, no NBA player will be identified more with the first decade of the 2000s than Kobe Bryant. He won three championships paired with Shaq, one without and while his pairing with Shaq raises questions in the minds of his critics, his accomplishments during the Lakers three-peat can’t be diminished. Shaq won Finals MVP awards, but he doesn’t win those rings without Kobe, who averaged 22–29 points per game in the playoffs during that impressive run and led the Lakers in assists. After Shaq’s departure, Kobe asserted his individual dominance — averaging 28–34 points per game from 04-08 before making it back to the Finals in the last two years of the decade. He’s made the All-NBA team 10 times, is an 11-time All-Star and three-time All-Star MVP.
Kobe playing alongside Shaq doesn’t diminish his firt three titles anymore than playing alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar diminishes Magic Johnson’s five titles — and while Shaq was a force during the first half of the 2000s, in the latter half, he’s been a shell of his former self. Tim Duncan and Kobe have dominated the entire decade, but Kobe has appeared in the Finals six out of nine seasons to Duncan’s three. Remember, they have both played in the same conference their entire careers — with Kobe’s Lakers beating Duncan’s Spurs in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2008.
–todd williams
Shaquille O’Neal
5 Finals
4 NBA Championships
3 NBA Finals MVP Awards
1 MVP
1 Scoring Title
Shaquille O’Neal’s domination over the competition was incomparable. O’Neal struck fear in the hearts of opponents who were forced to come up with futile gimmicks such as the “Hack-a-Shaq” to stop him. During O’Neal’s prime, there wasn’t an organization or player in the world who could come close to stopping him.
On the other hand, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan each had formidable rivals who could present problems for them on the court. There was a time when critics could argue that Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett were better than Bryant and Duncan, respectively. McGrady and Garnett both played on subpar teams for much of the decade and could have accomplished more if their teams were as talented as Bryant’s and Duncan’s.
As a result, there were a few teams that could game plan for Bryant or Duncan. However, there was simply no answer for O’Neal. A man playing amongst boys, O’Neal’s size and skill allowed him to have one of the greatest advantages in the history of sports. He strong-armed his way to accomplishments that were unmatched by any player this decade. The last 36 months belong to Bryant, but the decade belongs to O’Neal. –amir shaw
Tim Duncan
4 NBA Titles
2 Regular-Season MVP Awards
3 Finals MVP Awards
It’s easy to underestimate the unassuming Tim Duncan, the Michelangelo of power forwards, because is an expressionless, emotionless, bloodless basketball assassin. If he were anymore exact in his on-court execution, he’d come onto the court in lab coat and clipboard. The two-time NBA MVP and three-time Finals MVP is not only the greatest power forward in the history of the game — averaging 25 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks during his prime — but he is also one of the most fundamentally sound, dependable and durable basketball players ever produced. Through his exploits, Duncan made the small-market San Antonio Spurs one of the signature franchises of the new Millennium. That feat alone is far more impressive than the other candidates who joined a longtime NBA dynasty — the Lakers, and together, furthered their period of excellence.
He is the darling of basketball purists worldwide, for the 6-foot-11 Duncan was a “five-tool-type” player who performed each facet of the game with absolute precision and remarkable consistency. He did not try to dazzle with aerial acrobatics or through quick one-liners or try to peddle commercial products. He is the only player in NBA history to earn both All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in each of his first 12 seasons (David Robinson is second with 7). Duncan is one of 10 players to win back-to-back MVP awards, and one of only of four players to be named Finals MVP three or more times. His closest competitor, Kobe Bryant, has one title on his own, one regular season MVP and one Finals MVP. Case closed. –terry shropshire
