Five Biggest “What Ifs” in Lakers History

1. What if Shaq and Kobe stayed together?

The obvious answer, but really, could there be anything else?

For nearly a decade, the Lakers watched arguably the greatest duo in NBA history grow up together and becoming an unstoppable force. The end of their run saw three titles, four Finals appearances, and a ton of fights.

Centered around who was the alpha male, neither Shaq nor Bryant were comfortable taking the backseat. The result? Shaq was shipped out of town and Bryant stayed, eventually getting a couple more rings many years later.

Shaq, however, was the short-term beneficiary, winning a title in Miami with Dwyane Wade. However, his career saw him go title hunting, jumping from the Cavaliers to the Suns and the Celtics before ever calling it quits.

But what if these two could have put their differences aside? They admit in their later years they both were at fault, but if they could have realized that at the time, we’d be talking about the greatest duo hands down. A dominant big man with a dominant shooting guard. Two top-15 players.

What could have been