How old were you in 2001 you talking like this?
For the people who haven't had a shrine to Kobe in their room since 2006 (which is blasphemous according to your own faith, I should note), Shaq finished 3rd in MVP voting in 2001 with 578 points including 11 first-place votes. Kobe finished a distant 9th in MVP voting with 11 points, none of them 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place votes. And Shaq won Finals MVP in an easy unanimous vote, he was putting up 33-16-5 and 3 blocks/game against the DPOY while Kobe was getting outscored by Iverson by 10+.
Also, Shaq finished a close 3rd in MVP voting in 2002 with 696 points including 15 first-place votes. Kobe was a distant 5th in MVP voting with 98 points. And Shaq was again the unanimous Finals MVP as well.
Revisionist historians and people who didn't even watch basketball back then don't realize how highly regarded KG was. It was understood his situation in Minnesota (lost draft picks, bum ass teammates) is the only reason he wasn't winning on the level of Duncan/Kobe/Shaq
