It was one of the most powerful duos in the history of the NBA but at the same time they maintained a particular fight throughout their careers. Kobe Bryant (Pennsylvania, 1978 – California, 2020) and Shaquille O’Neal (New Jersey, 1972) were able to raise a golden dynasty to conquer up to three ringsdespite the almost impossible personal relationship they maintained for years.
On June 26, 1996, the Charlotte Hornets chose Kobe Bryant in the number 13 in the NBA Draft. However, it was his agent who publicly declared that Kobe did not want to play for the franchise, asking for an immediate transfer to Los Angeles Lakers. That young man would end up joining the Los Angeles team in exchange for Vlade Divacalong with a certain Shaquille O’Neal who arrived from the Orlando Magic, after the center fell in the last Finals against the Houston Rockets.
Shaq and Kobe were opposite poles. It didn’t take long to appreciate it. They distinguished themselves in practically everything. In work discipline, in character or in the way of playing. Kobe was a serious, introverted and hard-working guy, recently arrived in the league, while an always fun Shaq, who didn’t care so much about his physical condition and had a poor work ethic, was looking for the beloved ring using pure talent after four unsuccessful seasons in Orlando.
An image of Shaq and Kobe in 2001 when they shared a team in LA
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Even in their origins, numerous differences between the two were already appreciated. Kobe’s father Joe Bryantwas a basketball player in his time while Shaq was abused and abandoned by his father Joseph Toney and had to be raised by Phillip Harrison, an army sergeant. He was a strong, serious man of character with whom he had an excellent relationship.
The conference semifinals of 1997 between the Utah Jazz and the Lakers left one of the first episodes of enmity between both teammates. The Los Angeles franchise fell in a tie in which Kobe, with barely 18 years, decided to take more responsibilities than anyone else in attack. His percentages were not good (0/6 triples in the last game) and O’Neal did not quite understand why that boy was in charge of leading the Lakers in those playoffs.
When friction affects equipment
“He doesn’t go out there, he doesn’t go to clubs, he doesn’t tune his car… He is a very refined boy. I think too mature for his age”Shaq said about his teammate. The hatred they had for each other was shown publicly. It was in the first campaign of Phil Jackson as coach of the Lakers in which a gap was opened again in their relationship. The center once again publicly judged Bryant’s performance and his teammates supported his words. “Kobe plays too selfishly for us to win. “I’m tired of him.” Shaq commented.
Jackson stated years later that if he had made a vote in the team on whether Kobe had to leave or not, the shooting guard would have ended up far from the city of Los Angeles. So he decided to talk to him: “You want to be captain of the team one day, right?” he proposed. “I should be now. If Shaq is mad at me because I don’t play as a team, I am with him for not being in shape.”, he replied.
But that year, surprisingly, ended well. The Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the Conference Finals in a thrilling tie in which Kobe scored eight points in overtime with Shaq sent off. Bryant was the first to look for O’Neal at the end of the game and they hugged to celebrate. They interacted on the court as if they were two people who agreed on ideas, opinions and tastes. But it wasn’t like that.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal after becoming champions in 2002
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The Lakers then won three rings in a row, between 2000 and 2002. But the season after these successes was the most complicated. Kobe Bryant became embroiled in a sexual abuse case when he was charged with a felony charge at a Colorado hotel. The player’s attitude, both on and off the court, changed completely.
the end of an era
The guard acted aggressively with his teammates, and especially with Shaquille O’Neal, who could not stand his behavior. Bryant publicly criticized the center for not taking care of his injuries and requested that he be fired. Phil Jackson. Shaq, for his part, asked for a contract increase and this was not accepted, so he also said goodbye to the dynasty. The dirty laundry from that bad season for Kobe Bryant’s Lakers was revealed in a book by Phil Jackson, The Last Season, which showed all the tensions surrounding the franchise.
O’Neal’s departure for the Heat changed the narrative. The dilemma now was to see which of the two would succeed more than the other. ¿Shaq o Kobe? Two teammates and NBA champions ended up being the biggest rivals against each other. The center won his fourth ring with the Miami Heat (2006), while Bryant surpassed him with a total of five championships won with the Lakers, his last two won together with Pau Gasol.
“It drove me crazy that Shaq was so lazy when we played together. As a player you have the responsibility to work every day and you cannot skip it. He often didn’t take it seriously.”Bryant commented years later. The love-hate relationship would lead to three rings won in four disputed finals. Two players who marked an era in the Los Angeles franchise but who never got along off the court.
Finally, time ended up reconciling two close enemies who had their pluses and minuses on many occasions. He All Star de 2009 appeased both players. It was the night of reconciliation. They won the game, they laughed and they took home a Joint MVP, after Kobe’s 27 points and Shaq’s 17, who at that time was playing for the Phoenix Suns. “I miss those times. “Kobe was looking for me, especially in the pick & roll,” said Shaquille O’Neal. That same season, after Phil Jackson’s return to the Lakers, the Los Angeles franchise took the ring and Kobe Bryant mended his relationship with his coach.
Following the withdrawal of both stars’ tracks, Kobe and Shaq dropped numerous public hints at each other. If it weren’t for O’Neal’s multiple anger or franchise change, the center argued that “Kobe and I would have won five or six rings.” Furthermore, he assumed that Bryant was possibly the best teammate he had throughout his career. “The truth is that we had more good times than bad together.” secured the interior of New Jersey.
The performances that they left us on the floor revealed a unique couple in history, with an impact that transcends time. Absurd extremes who forgot about the personal in order to win the ring. Egos, individual aspirations and the many differences between the two truncated a magnificent relationship on the track with wounds that ended up healing over time.
After Kobe’s tragic death in 2020, Shaq was one of the first to show his pain through tears. “It has been a long time since I felt such deep pain, I lost a little brother,” he commented in the tribute to the legend. “I wish I could talk to him again,” lament. At his public funeral, O’Neal stated that despite their complex relationship, both always maintained a deep mutual respect, and that in their bad times they were not as enmity as the media story pointed out at the time: “When the cameras went off, we winked at each other.”
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2024-05-02 13:00:00
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