Would Kobe Bryant have won his fourth NBA championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers without 7-foot center Andrew Bynum? Absolutely.

Would Kobe Bryant have won his fourth NBA championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers without 7-foot frontliner Pau Gasol Saez? Most likely not.

Coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for 32 consecutive regular-season games from February till early April and slowed him down considerably throughout the entire 2009 playoffs, Bynum performed lethargically during the Lakers’ 4-1 NBA Finals victory over the Orlando Magic.

The prep-to-pro youngster, who does not turn 22 until October, was the starting center but often was pulled out early due to his propensity to commit fouls in a hurry. Lamar Odom would quickly replace him in the lineup and the Spanish-born Gasol would slide to center from power forward.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson would not put Bynum back on the floor till late in the first half or the start of the third period. Bynum also often found himself toiling on the bench during the payoff quarter as Jackson opted to go with a frontline combination of Trevor Ariza, Odom and Gasol.

During the five-game championship series, Bynum averaged 4.2 fouls (4-5-2-5-5) and registered paltry averages of 6.0 points (on .364 GFG and .667 FT shooting), 4.2 rebounds and .60 blocked shots while playing just 19 minutes an outing.

Bynum had series bests of nine points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes during the Lakers’ 100-75 rout of the Magic in Game One.

In fairness, Bynum was not exactly a complete waste for LA. Bynum’s size and mere floor presence (especially in tandem with Gasol) created match-up problems for the Magic.

Dwight Howard, Orlando’s meal ticket, simply could not handle two biggies in Gasol and Bynum at the same time.

Far from his dominant Superman-like performance during the Magic’s 4-2 upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, the 6-11 All-Star center was held in check by the Lakers, coming up with mortal averages of 15.4 points (on .488 FG and .603 FT shooting), 15.2 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the Finals.

Howard was forced to work hard on both ends of the floor because of Gasol’s scintillating performance during the series.

Gasol bulked up last summer in preparation for the Beijing Olympics and his first full season with the Lakers following his trade acquisition from Memphis on February 1, 2008 after six and a half seasons with the Grizzlies.

The extra poundage instantly paid dividends as Gasol, who turns only 29 on July 6, became physically stronger and played with more confidence. This somehow blurred his old “soft” image, a label that he, fairly or unfairly, got during the Lakers’ failed title bid versus the Boston Celtics a year ago.

The first Spanish player in NBA history ever to win a championship, Gasol registered averages of 18.6 points (on a team-high .600 FG clip), 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.80 blocks (another club best) an outing during the Finals against Orlando.

Without Gasol’s solid contributions, Bryant most likely would not have secured his fourth NBA championship ring.