Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s feud has been immortalized by media. Two of the most talented players in history could not keep the teamintact because of their giant egos. But then, their pursuit of greatness demanded such confidence.
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However, of the two, Kobe Bryant definitely had a bigger sense of importance. He was deep in the idea of being the best that for him to even acknowledge his weaknesses meant defeat. He was difficult to get to. For teammates and coaching staff alike.
Despite multiple meetings, Kobe refused to decrease his shot attempts. Phil Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal got sick of all the air balls and ball hogging. The boiling point of their frustrations came after a flurry of games with poor shooting.
Kobe Bryant refused to listen to Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson
Back in the early 2000s, gold and purple were fear-inducing colors. Rival franchises hated meeting them on the court. After all, who wanted to defend Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the same game? Yet, there was a glaring weakness in their team.
Kobe and Shaq had no chemistry. They were two bulls clashing horns for the reins of the franchise. Bryant believed the only way possible was to do everything on his own. He turned into a selfish scorer prone to bouts of poor shooting.
This is when Phil and Shaq called him out for it. They asked him to stop but Bryant wasn’t ready to listen. In fact, he straight-up refused to listen to their pleas. In his book Three-Ring Circus, jeff Pearlman wrote of the interactions in detail.
“In an overtime setback to Golden State, O’Neal and Bryant ran the pick-and-roll on five straight possessions late in the fourth quarter. Not once did Bryant pass to his teammate. “Drop it the f**k off,” O’Neal moaned during a time-out. He would do no such thing. Against Philadelphia, Jackson berated Bryant for a series of dumb shots. The player argued, and Jackson snarled, “I don’t want to hear that s**t from you!” “Well,” Bryant screamed, “I don’t want to hear that s**t from you, either!” Bryant shot and shot in the way Del Harris once talked and talked. Yes, O’Neal was a teammate, but so was Fox, one of the NBA’s top midrange shooters, and Horry, a three-point legend, and Horace Grant, a terrific guy to have in the blocks, and Ron Harper, one of Michael Jordan’s favorite teammates with the Bulls. Bryant ignored them all, because in his mind this was how it was supposed to be.”
Did Bryant’s method work?
Well, at first, Bryant’s method became the reason the greatest Lakers team of the 21st century was ripped apart. Jerry Buss traded Shaq, fired Phil Jackson, and gave the franchise to Kobe Bryant. He was the main man, running the show in a team that once had the great 7ft 1″ Shaquille O’Neal.
But Kobe’s countless hours of hard work and tenacity paid off when he got Pau Gasol. The return of Phil Jackson endured two more championships. In all fairness, Bryant’s one-track mind paved the path to being a legend. A certified Lakers legend, the greatest ever to play for them.
