“Accidental Basketball”: Shaquille O’Neal Recalls When Kobe Bryant Spoke About What’s ‘Wrong’ with Today’s Basketball

In the modern NBA, scoring averages have increased by 15-20 points per game compared to the previous two decades. For some people, this can be the triumph of the pace and space era that places great value on the three-point shot. However, for many critics of the game, these heightened numbers are a result of ‘accidental basketball’, as the late great Kobe Bryant once put it. Shaquille O’Neal recently shared an Instagram story that put the modern NBA’s offensive style under the microscope.

Shaq’s shared clip is a monologue from his former title-winning Lakers teammate, Kobe Bryant, who had termed the modern offense as accidental rather than intentional.

Shaq recalls the time Kobe spoke about what’s wrong with today’s basketball pic.twitter.com/VT37XaIvI2

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In 2019, Kobe Bryant appeared on the Knuckleheads Podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, where he talked about his gripe with the modern NBA offense. For Bryant, the offense nowadays is rarely structured or sequential. On the contrary, it relies on moving the ball randomly amongst players till the pass finds an open shooter.

The 5x champion argued that back in his day, the offensive schemes had a purpose and had to be adjusted as per the opponent. However, the three-point-heavy era relies upon what Kobe termed as “accidental basketball”. This form of basketball didn’t sit well with either Kobe Bryant or his 11x champion coach Phil Jackson.

“These players now play accidental basketball and it drives me and Phil crazy. It’s all penetrate and pitch, you make the shot, you may not. You have no idea who’s gonna be open. We played basketball with purpose. If I got the ball or Derek Fisher is on the wing or I am at the top. I know by scouting reports that you guys like to deny the top,” Kobe Bryant told Richardson and Miles.

 

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The Black Mamba then described how he used to make his moves by keeping the scouting reports about teams on the back of his mind. He also argued that it was the triangle offense’s systemic profile that allowed for such personnel-wise adjustments. To his point, both he and Jordan have won 11 championships in 20 years, under the tutelage of Phil Jackson and his systems of basketball offense. 

Is Kobe Bryant’s prediction coming to fruition?

The Mamba wanted a much more organized offensive style in the modern NBA. He once lamented the playing style of James Harden and predicted that The Beard would never win an NBA championship with his playing style. These comments came when Harden was at his apex with the Houston Rockets and putting together some of the most memorable seasons in NBA history. However, the 2018 MVP’s one-on-one ball-dominant style didn’t sit well with the Mamba. In 2019, the 2x NBA scoring champion made the comments on ESPN’s Jump, in an appearance with Tracy McGrady

“I’m not a fan of it in terms of winning championships. I don’t think that style’s ever gonna win championships,” Bryant said.

Fast forward to 2024 and The Beard has yet to make a finals appearance since 2012, when he did as a bench player for the OKC Thunder. While Kobe had acknowledged Harden’s exceptional scoring and passing abilities, he didn’t believe that his iso-heavy style bodes well for an NBA title.