When it comes to the greatest duos in the history of the NBA, one of the first that is always mentioned is the Los Angeles Lakers’ outstanding pair of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Even though the two went through a very public split, they still won three consecutive championships together and are widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest one-two punches in NBA history.
This is something that Shaq himself beleives as he challenged fans on his Instagram account to name a duo that could beat himself and Kobe in a two-on-two matchup:
Fans will be hard-pressed to find someone who could do that. Shaq was so dominant that just finding someone who could come close to containing him is next to impossible. Add to that someone who could stick with Kobe, one of the most prolific scorers the NBA has ever seen, and the task is that much more difficult.
One of the first duos that many would likely bring up is another Lakers pair: Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Magic and Kareem have an excellent chemistry and Kobe and Shaq could struggle to stop contain them.
Kareem and his Bucks teammate Oscar Robertson as well as Shaq and Penny Hardaway would also be good suggestions. In the end however, it is very difficult picturing any pair of teammates being able to beat Shaq and Kobe in two-on-two. The pair was so dynamic and just unstoppable, very few could come close.
Come Monday, Shaq and Kobe will soon be further linked to Lakers history as players to have their jerseys retired by the organization.
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