Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant weren’t too bad as a duo. They may have only three-peated together, but every team in NBA history has done that, right?
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Jokes aside, this duo was one of, if not the best in the history of the NBA. And one of the biggest reasons for that is how petty they were.
On the court, of course, that can be a very good thing. After all, it shows just how competitive a player is willing to be, and how high their drive toward the game is. Off the court, however, it probably isn’t the best characteristic for a player to have.
In the past, this very part of the two greats has resulted in some major bad blood between them. However, on one little occasion, they were able to direct all their anger toward a certain other legend.
Dennis Rodman was once the subject of ire from both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal are unequivocally all-time greats. And perhaps because of it, during their Lakers days, they both demanded some level of special treatment.
Frankly, that isn’t egregious by any degree. But the thing is, when they didn’t get it, the duo wasn’t exactly too mature about it either. And that is something Dennis Rodman had to learn the hard way.
Here is what he had to say on the matter.
“Kobe and Shaq were so envious of me because the Lakers catered to me so much… Coming into the game, going out after the game, having parties, doing this, doing that, hotel this…stuff like that… they couldn’t stand me on that damn team, to be honest with you”
Dennis Rodman only ended up staying with the Lakers for nothing more than a few months. And given the environment around the team, it moving to a different one probably didn’t upset him too much.
If there was a negative for the man here, it was that he had to leave Jeanie Buss behind.
Dennis Rodman and Jeanie Buss dated during his time with the Lakers
Dennis Rodman was quite the playboy during his younger years. Heck, there are even estimates that he slept with over 2000 women during just his NBA tenure. And allegedly, Lakers’ chairman, Jeanie Buss was one of them.
During his time with the Lakers, Buss allegedly invited Rodman over to the Ritz Carlton where they shared a dinner, after which some drinks allegedly followed as well.
If you want to know more, you can read about all the details right here.
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