Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were two of the most dominant players the league has ever seen. But when both Kobe and Shaq were on the Lakers, their presence on the ball was astronomical. The duo would often even fight for more possessions, leaving very little for the remaining Laker squad. Recently, a member of the Shaq-Kobe Lakers even spoke out against the conditions that existed during that era.
Advertisement
The duo often needed the ball to make their presence felt, with their game being more offense-oriented. That isn’t to say that O’Neal and Bryant weren’t defensive savants, but they did most of their damage on the offensive side of the floor.
Devean George, the 23rd pick in the 1999 draft, was an integral member of the Shaq-Kobe three-peat. During a recent episode of The Forgotten Seasons Podcast, George would lay the facts bare, letting everyone know about the downsides of playing with historically great players,
“It’s hard because..we may get 4 attempts. That’s hard..you gotta make two or three of those attempts… you’re not getting no rhythm.”
View this post on Instagram
George would later reveal that the pressure from only getting a few shots a game would often wear players’ confidence down. Come playoff time, the Lakers supporting cast would end up being “off rhythm”, resulting in the media often criticizing them.
The 6’8 forward would average 5.6 points a game, 3.1 boards and dish out 0.9 assists during his time with the Lakers, building a strong relationship with Shaq on his way to three Championships.
Shaquille O’Neal was messaih for a rookie George
Devean George and Shaquille O’Neal have shared a unique relationship over the years. O’Neal and George would play side by side for seven seasons, winning three championships during that time. But that wouldn’t be all, as Shaq would play the role of an elder brother for a rookie George.
While on the Forgotten Seasons Podcast, George would reveal how Shaq would go out of his way to ensure his rookies were financially comfortable. Talking about the same, George would reveal,
” Shaq was like Santa Clause. So for rookies, we don’t get paid until like November 15th….so he[ Shaq] takes care of the young guys. We get on the plane, and he hits you with a ward of $10,000 bills. Or, he will have you go do something. He had me go buy headphones. He gave me like $3000, and headphones for like $300.”
View this post on Instagram
Shaq mostly had a bitter-sweet relationship with his rookies over the years. O’Neal was a player who demanded respect from his fellow teammates, especially his rookies. Shaq was famous for his rookie ‘hazing’, as he would take things to the extreme on many occasions. Even with all his toxic behaviour, Shaq did look out for his rookies and young teammates, even helping them put down payments on luxury cars.
