text: was kobe a better player with shaq????? i hear the argument that kobe is trying to do too much because of the lack of talent on his team.  we hear that all of the time.  without shaq, many of kobe's stats have dropped and here those stats.... fg%, rebs, assist-to-turnover ratio, steals, and blocks.  if he's doing so much with the absence of shaq, then why have all of these stats lowered?  also, even with his scoring title last season, it was not his best season.  go to nba.com and look at his '02-'03 season.  that was his best season.  and yes, he played with shaq that season.  he has yet to win a playoff series since the departure of shaq as well.  was kobe not a better all around player with shaq? hmmmmm....kobe... or.... shaq? that's a hard one. not!!!!!!  kobe bryant kicked out the second best coach in nba history, phil jackson, who is behind red auerbach. kobe also kicked out the guy who won him more than just one championship, the big dog, shaq himslef. since shaq has left, kobe has... lemme think... missed the playoffs and got eliminated in the first round. since shaq has left l.a., shaq has helped his team to a game 7 in the eastern conference finals and helped his team win the nba championship last year. now i'm not saying shaq is the best player on the miami heat roster, because everyone knows dwayne wade is better right now. even shaq knows that. but, shaq is by far better than kobe. shaq will go down in the hall of fame as a better player than kobe. no doubt.