Who needs Shaquille O’Neal? Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are doing just fine, thank you very much.

The Los Angeles Lakers have not been to the NBA Chamionship since 2004. Thanks in large part to a determined Kobe Bryant and an impressive team effort, the Lakers are heading back to The Finals and are looking to reignite their rivalry with the Boston Celtics, should the Celtics win their game tonight against the Detroit Pistons.

“I think it is a tremendous accomplishment,” Bryant said. “I think it started for us in training camp, when there was a lot of talk swirling around. We were always together, eating together, on the bus, joking around together. We built that unity from the first day, and we carried that on throughout the season.”

In Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant scored 39 points and helped his team finish off the Spurs with a 100-92 win at home.

“He was unbelievable again,” teammate Manu Ginobili said of Bryant’s MVP performance on the night. “When his team couldn’t score, he just took over, made some crazy shots.”

The NBA Finals start next week. The Lakers are at 1/2 odds to win the NBA Championship.