Shaquille O’Neal, After Leading Kobe Bryant and Lakers to 3 NBA Championships, Needed Dwyane Wade’s Help to Beat Them on 2004 Christmas Day

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players we’ve ever seen in the NBA. The 7ft 1″ big man used to control the game with his excellent defense and unstoppable offense. In 1996, Shaq signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After initial struggles, Shaq led the Lakers to 3 NBA Championships in consecutive seasons. With Kobe Bryant as his solid #2, the duo still remains the last to register a three-peat in the NBA. However, they had their own issues, with Kobe wanting to take over the role of the Alpha, and Shaq unwilling to let go of the same.

Things got bad between the two, to the point where Jerry Buss had to select between one of the two superstars. He chose Kobe, and sent Shaq to the Miami Heat. This did not sit well with the big man, who wanted to get back at the Lakers, and he got his chance on Christmas Day 2004.

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Dwyane Wade had to help Shaquille O’Neal one-up Kobe Bryant and the Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal felt like he was betrayed by the organization for whom he’d shed blood, sweat, and tears. After the trade, Shaq’s first matchup against the Lakers was Christmas Day. He was desperate to win it and show the front office, especially Jerry Buss, what they’d given up on. As shared in his docu-series, SHAQ,

Even though Shaq wanted to be the one to get the Heat the win, he couldn’t, as he was fouled out. Dwyane Wade rose up, scored 29 points, dished ten assists, grabbed three rebounds, and got two steals. He led the Heat to an overtime 104-102 win over Kobe Bryant and his Lakers.

Individually, Kobe won the battle over Shaq. He scored 42 points, had six assists, and had three rebounds. On the other hand, Shaq only had 24 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. However, it was O’Neal who walked away victorious that night.

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How did the rest of the Kobe-Shaq matchups go?

Over the course of their career, Kobe and Shaq locked horns a total of 11 times. Out of those 11 contest, Shaq emerged victorious in seven of them, winning their head-to-head battle 7-4. Even though Kobe always had the better numbers, Shaq’s teams ended up winning more than the Lakers did.

By the end of their careers, Kobe had the last laugh as he retired with 5 rings, in comparison to Shaq’s 4.

Their rivalry and animosity ended once the two hung up their boots. They weren’t the closest of friends, but they did get much closer than they used to be in the past.

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