“F*** that, Shaquille O’Neal, get it off the rebound if I miss bro”: When a rookie Kobe Bryant completely ignored the star Lakers’ center to avoid Hack-a-Shaq

A rookie Kobe Bryant once ignored Shaquille O’Neal and avoided passing him the ball in the paint to prevent Hack-a-Shaq

The summer of 1996 might have been one of the best summers for the Los Angeles Lakers. In one offseason, they managed to sign the NBA’s rising star in Shaquille O’Neal, and they drafted Kobe Bryant.

The duo became one of the most successful duos in the NBA and dominated the league for the better part of a decade. They won three championships in a row from 2000 to 2002, and remain the last franchise to 3-peat in the NBA. However, their pairing wasn’t successful right from the start.

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Shaq needed time to get adjusted to the LA system. On the other hand, the 18-year-old Kobe Bryant got limited minutes in his rookie season. However, the two showed enormous potential, and they eventually lived up to the same.

A rookie Kobe Bryant denied the ball to Shaquille O’Neal in the paint

Even though Kobe didn’t get many minutes in his rookie season, his desire to win and his passion for the game was clearly on display. Shaquille O’Neal was a dominant force in the paint, with his Achilles heel being free-throws. This was often exploited by teams, as they used to foul Shaq and send him to the free-throw line.

Hack-a-Shaq was particularly effective as even though Shaq was aware of his weakness, he never really improved the same. Kobe was fed up of the same one game, and he refused to pass the ball inside to the big man anymore. Shaq used to throw the ball out to the rook, and expect it back, but he never got it.

In an interview, Kobe talked about the same.

“Shaq kept going to the free throw line and he kept missing them. So when he threw the ball out to me, I am not throwing that s*** back into him. So I kept shooting them right”.

“Shaq said ‘Dude, you got to throw me the ball’, I said, ‘F*** that, Get it off the rebound if I miss bro’. I was 18 yrs old man, 18 yrs. Must have been out of my damn mind.”

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Just goes to show how much Kobe Bryant loved to win. Denying a star player the ball, especially in your rookie year, that’s a big, bold move.