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“How’s the view from Kobe Bryant’s shoulders, Shaquille O’Neal!”: When the Inside crew trolled Lakers legend with most brilliant way possible, while promoting Drake’s album

Ashish Priyadarshi
Published

Shaquille O'Neal

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal formed one of the NBA’s most formidable duos in the early 2000s, but a feud between the two got in the way of a longer success story.

The two played together for the Lakers from 1996-2004, and they won three titles together from 2000-2003. They were unstoppable. Shaq was in the prime of his career, dominating at the center position like nobody had ever seen before.

Kobe was an up and coming star, but his potential seemed limitless. While playing with Shaq, he showed he was a true star, averaging well over 20 points per game once he started going in his career.

He was an integral part of the Lakers’ title runs, but he was always considered to be second fiddle behind Shaq at the time. Shaquille O’Neal was the one winning MVPs and Final MVPs, he was clearly top dog. However, that dynamic got a bit messed up in the Lakers last year, and things went downhill.

Also Read: “Andre Iguodala hand-delivered the ball to Stephen Curry before anyone else!”: Video footage reveals Warriors man’s heart-melting gesture towards Finals MVP

Shaquille O’Neal was trolled with a Kobe Bryant-Drake graphic by his Inside the NBA crew

The Lakers 2003-04 season was clouded by controversy. Kobe had to be away from the team to battle a sexual harassment case in court, and that used to get Shaq angry. He wanted Kobe around more and felt his case was distracting for the team.

On the other hand, Kobe hated Shaq’s lack of a serious work ethic and took trouble with his physical fitness when he showed up to practice. The two reached a breaking point, and the Lakers had to choose between them. They chose Kobe, and the rest is history, of course, but the feud still lived on in memory for a long time.

It took an interview with the two to calm things down as they talked over everything that went down during those Lakers years, clearing the air.

The Inside the NBA crew didn’t let Shaq live down his beef though. In 2016, the year Drake released his album ‘Views’, the crew decided to poke fun at Shaq with a Drake related burn.

As you can see, Shaq clearly didn’t take too kindly to the graphic and stormed off the set, knocking things down as he went. It clearly ticked Shaq off, and it made for a very entertaining moment for the rest of us.

Also Read: “You have NO friends on the court, LeBron James!”: When Tracy McGrady gave the teenage King essential advice, during his high school days

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi

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Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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