Imagine how great the Los Angeles Lakers would have been if Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had actually enjoyed each other’s company. Although the dynamic duo won three consecutive NBA titles at the beginning of the decade, their differences eventually forced the Lakers to trade O’Neal to the Miami Heat in 2005.
Once Bryant and O’Neal were on opposite sides of the map, they displayed their disdain for each other publicly. When the Miami Heat played the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas of 2005, O’Neal and Bryant ignored each other and did not shake hands before or after the game. And when Bryant and the Lakers lost the NBA championship in 2008, O’Neal dissed Bryant in rap by saying, “Last night, Kobe couldn’t do without me. I’m a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that’s why I’m getting divorced.”
Kobe eventually responded by saying, “People think Shaq would have won a championship without me on that team? They’re crazy.”
Bryant recently discussed his beef with Shaq in an interview with GQ magazine. “The biggest mistake I made was responding to what he was saying about me,” Bryant says. “Once I responded, now that made it seem like I was part of that whole thing. It’s like, OK, these two are against each other. As opposed to just staying quiet, which is what I’ve been doing the last few years. Let him say what he needs to say.”
There is a good chance that Bryant and O’Neal will meet in the 2010 NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers, O’Neal’s current team, and the Lakers are the top two teams in the NBA.
–amir shaw
