Leaders of one of the few teams in history to have been able to sign a three-peat, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were no less tyrannical for all that. A legend of the league also claims to have quickly been taken in dislike by the two icons of the franchise!
The very special relationship that united them will probably never know any equivalent in the future. Teammates, brotherly friends, enemies #1: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant displayed all these links during their career, sometimes even simultaneously. Their oversized egos, which they have long tried to cohabit with the Lakers, finally got the better of their partnership.
The legend hated by Kobe and Shaq
Both destined to control sooner or later the angelino franchise, the two men had a hard time sharing the spotlight. So when a rookie like Dennis Rodman came to relegate them to the shadows for a few weeks, in 1999, the mayonnaise logically did not take. Asked about his visit to LA in a recent speech, The Worm explained that he was not very well received by Shaq and Kobe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJB4wazdRdA
I started playing with Kobe and Shaq, and people were coming to the Staples Center for me, because they hadn’t seen me in six months. So Kobe and Shaq were downright jealous. People cared so much about me when I showed up at games, when I came on, when I partied, all that stuff. They hated me on that damn team, to be honest with you!
Recruited by LA a few days before the start of the 1998-99 season, Rodman only spent a very short time there. Signed on February 23, he was indeed invited to pack his bags on April 16. The time for him to play 23 games – including 11 as a starter – and in particular to bring his stone to the building on the rebound (11.2 per game). His influence nevertheless proved to be too important for the two stars of the franchise, who finally got the better of his experience on the spot!
Perfect complement to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen at the Bulls, Dennis Rodman has paradoxically never been able to find his place alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant at the Lakers. His side fair phenomenon obviously did not pass in Los Angeles!
