"Could nobody beat that duo" - Tyronn Lue believes Shaq and Kobe could have won eight rings had they stayed longer together

The conversations around the league are often filled with some crazy “what if” scenarios. It excites the fans and everyone involved with the game to put a hypothetical situation on the board and discuss it.

Recently, Tyronn Lue was presented with one of those questions in his appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast — how many more titles would the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant partnership in the City of Angels have yielded had they stayed together for longer? The former Los Angeles Lakers guard didn’t hesitate one second in his answer.

“They could have won eight…” Lue answered without a shadow of a doubt in his voice.

“They could have won eight,” he reiterated.

Kobe and Shaq did it all

This iconic partnership began when O’Neal left the Orlando Magic in 1996 to join the Lakers, just as a teenage Bryant, freshly drafted by Charlotte and traded to LA, entered the league. It took some time for both stars to find their rhythm and coexist in the same system, but once they did, they never looked back.

The Lakers became a dynasty almost overnight, winning three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000 to 2002, with Shaq collecting three straight Finals MVPs just for good measure. To say they looked unstoppable would be an understatement.

However, beneath all the glitz and glamour of Showtime’s new era, there was tension brewing. The two alpha personalities clashed, with Shaq’s laid-back approach and Kobe’s relentless drive often pulling them in opposite directions. That boiling point came in the 2004 Finals, when the Lakers, heavy favorites, fell to the underdog Detroit Pistons.

It was a shocking collapse, and it signaled the end. The front office shipped The Diesel to Miami, while Kobe officially became the face of the purple and gold.

“I wasn’t there for the Detroit series or whatever. I’m glad my best friend Chauncey (Billups) got a championship, but there were some bickering back and forth then. Like, they could have easily won that (series),” the now Los Angeles Clippers head coach added. “But if they stayed together, they won seven, eight championships. Could nobody beat that duo. Somebody might have slipped up and won, like Detroit. But, if we leave outside that year and come back the next year, nobody is beating them.”

The Lakers were on a downward trend

No matter how unstoppable the duo looked at their peak, all good things must come to an end. Shaq was already in his thirties and didn’t exactly do much to keep himself in peak physical condition year-round. Kobe, meanwhile, was still doing Kobe things, elevating his game year after year and enjoying being the undisputed No.1 option in LA.

At the same time, other teams were rising and ready to pounce on the throne. The Pistons showed in 2004 that a true team effort could dismantle even the brightest collection of stars. The NBA landscape was shifting, and while Shaq and Kobe together could have prolonged their reign, nothing was guaranteed.

It’s fascinating to imagine how many more banners would be hanging inside Staples Center if egos hadn’t clashed. Lue’s belief that they could have hit eight championships might stem from a little subjectivity, given how dominant he saw them firsthand during their heyday.

Still, what they actually accomplished is more than enough to put them right up there when talking about the greatest duos in the Association’s history. Anything more than that still remains a big what-if.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“Could nobody beat that duo” – Tyronn Lue believes Shaq and Kobe could have won eight rings had they stayed longer together

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