Kobe Bryant has four championship rings now, and he won the fourth without Shaquille O'Neal as a teammate. "Felt like a big, ol' monkey was off my back," said Bryant, "I don't have to hear that idiotic criticism anymore." All this time he has been tired of hearing people said that he cannot win another NBA title without O'Neal. LA Lakers, making their 30th NBA Finals appearance, had not won NBA title since 2002, the last of three consecutive championships — all with O'Neal as the starting center.
