NBA: The 30 best trios in league history
Best trios in NBA history: 2. Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher
- Shaquille O’Neal: 26.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 2.4 bpg
- Bryant: 21.5 ppg, 5 rbg
- Fisher: 7.7 ppg
- Finals record: 3-1
- Time together: 1996-2004
In terms of duos, there was arguably no one better than Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
O’Neal was the headliner, he averaged 26.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks a night during their eight-year run. Outside of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, O’Neal was always selected to the All-Star team and his placement on the All-NBA team at the end of the year was a virtual lock.
Bryant, on the other hand, was the showstopper. Back then, Bryant wasn’t as prolific of a scorer, at least early on. He went on to average 21.6 points in his first eight seasons with O’Neal but turned into the Bryant we’ve all grown to love as he spent the final four years of his career with O’Neal averaging no less than 24 points a game.
The offense ran through O’Neal first and Bryant, a close second. But, one player who doesn’t get any love and attention is Derek Fisher. Admittedly, the numbers weren’t very impressive as Fisher averaged just 7.7 points per game. Still, time and time again, Fisher bailed the Lakers out with clutch shots. He was never an All-Star or All-NBA player. Also, the mere notion of him in the MVP discussion is laughable but Fisher came up clutch more times than not.
In eight seasons, excluding the lockout, the Lakers won at least 50 games every year. Twice during that stretch, they reached the 60 win mark. Four Finals appearances in five years, along with three straight titles made this trio practically unstoppable. If they somehow found a way to resolve their differences (link), this group would’ve won even more titles.