Shaquille O’Neal holds a memorable spot in the Lakers’ history. His term with them was rather productive. He won three championships wearing gold and purple. During his tenure, he was also fortunate enough to mentor a young Kobe Bryant. Perhaps mentor is a stretch but Shaq did have a deep impact on the young Mamba. In his 2011 book, Diesel claimed that Jerry Buss’s cronies would pressure Del Harris into putting Bryant back in a game despite poor performance.
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Shaquille O’Neal’s time in LA was complicated. On one end, he became highly successful here and won 3 of his championships. But at the same time, his infamous conflict with Kobe Bryant became a problem for the entire franchise.
In his book Shaq Uncut, Diesel wrote that the entire team was annoyed by Kobe’s style of play. They wanted him to pass but he was hell-bent on showing off his moves.
Shaquille O’Neal revealed Jerry Buss’s preference for Kobe Bryant
In Shaq Uncut, O’Neal claimed that Del Harris was a solid guy. He treated every player the same way, whether they were a superstar or not. So, whenever Black Mamba would ball hog, Harris would bring him out of the game.
But as soon as he did, Jerry Buss would send one of his men down to push Del into putting Kobe back.
Shaq: “One thing I admired about him, though, was he didn’t care if you were Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant—he was hard on everybody. If Kobe came down and threw it between his legs ten times and then made a pass, Del would call a time-out and tell him, “Pass the damn ball!” and then Kobe would talk back and Del would sit his a** down. That was impressive, until one of Buss’s cronies would come up in the middle of the game and tap Del on the shoulder. He’d tell Del, “Put the kid back in the game.” I never knew what the guy’s name was, but there he was, always lurking around our bench, talking to our coach while we’re trying to beat San Antonio. Meanwhile, the fans are all chanting “Kobe! Kobe!” so Del Harris didn’t have much of a choice. He’d have to put Kobe back in.”
Shaq and Bryant’s feud fractured the Lakers dynasty
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were men with big egos. Though having them on their roster was a positive, their off-the-court clashes ultimately proved fatal for the three-peat team. In fact, the cold war between them escalated so much that Shaq once famously punched 6ft 6″ Kobe.
Fortunately, the two had made up later. Before Kobe’s tragic passing, Shaq and Bryant had grown closer and resolved many of their issues.
Also read: Jack Nicholson, Who Once Paid $81,000 to Watch the Lakers, Chose Michael Jordan Over Magic Johnson
