How Many Rings Could Kobe Bryant and Shaq Have Won, If Not for Feud?

The news of the feud between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal has once again reared its ugly head, as former Laker and teammate of Bryant and O'Neal Robert Horry told the Russian media that blame for the feud falls on Phil Jackson.

This raises the question about how many rings could the two have won if it weren't for the feud. It would be easy to just project countless championships and say that they would have won not six, not seven, not eight...

Here's another thought, though. How about not any? It's equally as feasible. 

O'Neal had become the best player in the world before Kobe Bryant ever became a Laker, but he hadn't won a ring in spite of it. In his lone trip to the Finals, he was eaten alive by Hakeem Olajowon.

That's not to say he didn't play well. He did. It's just Olajuwon played great. 

That was a level that O'Neal never obtained in the postseason until Jackson (allegedly) introduced the feud. 

O'Neal, for all of his antics and, at times, juvenile behavior, has a "fault". He's basically a nice guy. He doesn't have the "killer" instinct. He doesn't have that innate "rage," that indignation that is flabbergasted at the notion someone, anyone would dare to believe that they deserved to be on the same court. 

It's not to say that "nice" and "killer" can't go together. Some players have that switch they can flip when they step on the field or court.

Kobe Bryant seems to be the type of guy who has trouble turning it off. Maybe I'm wrong, but Bryant seems like the kind of guy that if you passed him on the highway would have to get back out in front of you. 

So, what happens if this hyper-competitive 18-year-old kid, with all the confidence and ability in the world and none of the experience, comes and starts "taking over" the team and O'Neal, the giant clown, just takes a back seat?

That's not a rip on Kobe, it's a rip on being 18. Or 19. Or 20. Or anyone under the age of 25.

If you're under 25, take no offense to that. When you're over 40, you'll look back at 22-year-old you and say, "I was one stupid kid!" If you don't, it just means you never grew up. 

I like to say there's three stages of learning: First, you know nothing. Then you know everything. Then you know nothing. It's not until you get to the stage where you know all the things you don't know you don't really know anything. 

Jackson needed to find a way to get the guy who should be in the driver's seat out of the backseat and the guy who should be in the passenger seat out of the driver's seat. 

If he never gets the rivalry, you get the Kobe of right now, only without the maturity of right now. Instead of throwing up 25 shots a game, he'd be throwing up 35 a game. Instead of ignoring Andrew Bynum more than he should, he'd be ignoring the greatest offensive center since Wilt Chamberlain and ignoring him in his prime. 

The feud brought the most out of Shaq, and it was the one thing that, at least to a degree, put Kobe in his place. Sure, they could have gotten along just fine without the feud, but maybe they wouldn't have won any rings. 

I mean, call me crazy. It's just a thought. Maybe the man with 11 titles knows what he's doing.