Shaq asks the question we’ve all asked plenty of times about his time with the Lakers. What if?
“What if Shaq and Kobe stayed together in L.A.?”
This is a question that many basketball fans have thought to themselves, or even asked out loud. As great as Shaq and Kobe were as a team, three back-to-back-to-back championships doesn’t quite seem like enough. It always seemed like they should have won more. It always seemed that in many ways that they could/should have been greater than the MJ/Pippen duo that produced six championships.
Whereas, Pippen was able to play the role of Robin to MJ’s Batman, Kobe could not, once he realized his time to be Batman has arrived. And Shaq couldn’t digress into the role of Robin, although he should have. So of course, tensions arose, feuds were started, and that forced management to pick a side. So they naturally went with the younger, and more focused and determined Kobe over Shaq, who still had a lot to prove, but by this time kept constantly coming to training camps out of shape and literally walked through the regular season, saving himself for the postseason. This reportedly was one of the main causes of Kobe’s hatred for Shaq at the time.
What “could have been,” what “should have been” is always a topic of discussion when it comes to life in general, but especially in the sports arena. NBA 2K15 explores on this theme involving Shaq and Kobe and other famous situations that have happened throughout NBA history.
2K Sports released a brand new trailer for the game highlighting the MyTeam feature of the game. Shaquille O’Neal voices over the entire trailer, which is focused on the historical “what if’s” around the NBA. Shaq went straight for Lakers fans heartstrings, asking the same question many still ask themselves: “What if I had stayed in L.A.? How many championships could we have won?”
2K Sport’s MyTeam mode allows players to build their own teams by collecting, and purchasing, cards to create the team of their dreams. The developer released a huge portion of information on the mode today in an exclusive interview with Operation Sports, which can be read over here.
For those of us that remember the good days between Shaq and Kobe, or even if you don’t, here’s a video to remind you of how truly great they were and how great they could have been if they stayed together.
