2001 First Round:
Lakers/Blazers 3-0
Shaq: 27 ppg, 15.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 52.6% TS. (lgav 51.8%)
Kobe: 25 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 7.7 apg, 56.5% TS
Debatable who outplayed who there. Kobe definitely had a better series on offense, but Shaq grabbing nearly 16 boards per game was a big part of the Lakers outrebounding the Blazers by 11 boards per game over that series. And of course, because it was a 3-game sample, Shaq's piss-poor Game 1 FG% haunted him the whole series. He shot 7/21 from the field (but 10/15 from the line). In Games 2 and 3, he shot 14/24 (4/9 FT) and 9/17 (7/10 FT). Kobe, on the other hand, had a great game 1 (9/20, 9/12, 28 points), a hot game 2 (8/11, 8/10 for 25 points) and then kind of stank in game 3 as a scorer (9/23, 4/6, 22 points, but 9 assists).
They worked very well together, with both of them "on" in game 2 and one or the other "on" in the book-ends. I don't think it can be accurately stated that Kobe outplayed Shaq in that series.
Second Round:
Lakers/Kings 4-0
Shaq: 33.3 ppg, 17.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 58.9% TS
Kobe: 35 ppg, 9 rpg, 4.3 apg, 58.8% TS
Just at first pass, again, I don't think you can say Kobe outplayed Shaq. Both of them were staggeringly dominant on offense. The Kings were basically helpless against the L.A. scoring duo. Kobe scored a bit more, but Shaq was stupid-dominant on the glass and equally efficient. Mind he shot just shy of 60% FG and his TS% bums out because he shot under 50% at the line, despite going to the line as many times as did Kobe.
Shaq's game one was a 44/21 performance in a romp, in which he definitely outplayed Kobe. Not that Bryant played poorly, but that was just an uber-dominant stomping of the Kings. 43/20 from the Diesel in game 2 was definitely better than Kobe's 27/9/5, though again Bryant played well. 21/18 on 13 shots in game 3, Shaq took it easy and Kobe had a great game, going for 36/7/4. Hard to say Kobe outplayed Shaq per se, since he both shot more and played more minutes, but that was a heck of a scoring performance. In game 4, Shaq went for 25/10 in 38 minutes, but Kobe played 48 and scored... 48 points. He also grabbed 16 boards. He definitely outplayed Shaq in that game, but that performance also skewed his series averages to where it looked like he was outplaying him despite the fact that Shaq opened the series with back-to-back 40/20s and then quieted down while Kobe got his in the back half of the sweep. It was a good mix of "you, now me" kind of stuff. They were insanely dominant together.
WCFs:
Lakers/Spurs 4-0
Shaq: 27 ppg, 13 rpg, 2.5 apg, 54.7% TS (minding that he was going up against Duncan and D-Rob)
Kobe: 33.3 ppg, 7 rpg, 7 apg, 57.1% TS
Fair to say Kobe had a better series here. He played 3 more minutes per game and scored more effectively. Shaq opened things up by his presence and still played rather well himself, but one of the best parts of the duo was that excessive defensive attention on one freed up the other, and they both did a good job of taking advantage of those matchups. Kobe ate San Antonio alive... and then Shaq did the same to Philly.
Kobe opened the series with a 45-point bomb. Shaq dropped 28/11 in the 14-point blowout, but Kobe was just everywhere. 19/35 shooting, on fire from just about every spot on the floor, not spamming 3s, he was just unstoppable and they couldn't keep him away from the rim. His J cooled in the second half, but he was still able to slither into the key at will. 19/14 but on rough shooting for Shaq in Game 2, Kobe carried the offense with a 28-point night. 35/17 from Shaq on 69.6% FG, 36/9/8 from Kobe on hot shooting from everywhere but the line... they both just exploded on the Spurs. 26/10 from Shaq in Game 4, 24 points and 11 assists from Kobe... but you want to hear the funny part? DEREK FISHER had 28 points that game. Yeah. 6/7 from 3, 11/13 FG overall, absolute lulz. San Antonio was basically face-palming the entire game.
And that leaves the Finals:
Lakers/Sixers 4-1
Shaq: 33 ppg, 15.8 rpg, 4.8 apg, 57.5% TS
Kobe: 24.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 5.8 apg, 50.1% TS
Little else needs to be said here, Kobe had it rough and Shaq went insane. Again though, it's emblematic of how those two played before the personal conflict started to really heat up: Shaq was the foundation from which everything started, by design, but Kobe was insanely effective at picking up the slack when Shaq was swarmed. I don't think it's really accurate to say Kobe outplayed him over the first three rounds at all, though.
