Elmo is like the 4th option. The attempts to minimize Kobe's first 3 rings just because he wasn't the best player on the team has always been funny to me since prime Shaq is arguably the most physically dominant player to ever step on the court, and every coach on the planet would have run the offense through him. who wouldn't have been 2nd option to that version of Shaq? and even still, Kobe was so good that half the nights it was 1 and 1A, not 1 and 2.

Kobe was so good in the 01 playoffs that Shaq called him his idol and the best in the league and Phil said Kobe had the best all around court game of anyone he's EVER coached. He wasn't just some typical championship sidekick.