Shaquille O’Neal talked about his rivalry and friendship with Kobe Bryant in detail in his 2001 book, Shaq Talks Back. Speaking about his early years with the Lakers, Shaq revealed that Kobe thought he could dunk on him if he was 6 10”. However, O’Neal ever-confident in his abilities, wrote that he had heard shorter players make that claim all his life. Shaq confidently refuted Kobe and claimed that he had worked hard on his skills as well, apart from having a huge size advantage over most players.
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Arguably the best dup in the history of the NBA, Shaq and Kobe had their fair share of disagreements as well. The two both wanted to be the alpha player on their team, which led to quite a few disagreements on the court. The dunk claim made by Kobe seems to be just one of them.
Kobe Bryant claimed he would dunk on Shaquille O’Neal if he was 6 ft 10”
Both Kobe and Shaq are counted among the best players in the history of the NBA. The fact that both players played together for the Lakers meant that some disagreements were only natural.
One of them was about Kobe’s dunking prowess. He claimed that the lack of height was the only thing that was stopping him from dunking over Shaq. However, Shaq disagreed, claiming that was something he had heard many times in his career:
“Now, today, I’ve made it. I am somebody. And every now and then in practice, Kobe Bryant will tell me, “If I was 6’10”, I would dunk on you.” I’ve heard this my whole life, guys saying if they were taller if I was shorter. I always answer, “No, you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t do nothing.” I worked hard to become the MVP of the league.”
While Kobe was 6 4”, Shaq stood at a humungous 7 ft 1 inch, which gave him an obvious advantage when it came to blocking dunks. Shaq however, claimed that it was a lot of hard work in addition to his size that led him to become the MVP, three times in a row.
Kobe Bryant referred to Shaq as his big brother
Kobe and Shaq were eventually able to move past their problems off the court. They developed a close bond over the years despite having a range of disagreements towards the beginning of their playing days.
As a matter of fact, Kobe once explained that the difference of opinion between O’Neal and him was a result of their relationship. Calling Shaq his big brother, Kobe claimed that the two played well together and were eventually able to find themselves as teammates.
The bromance, rivalry and overall relationship between Bryant and Shaq was one of the most human relationships the NBA has ever seen. The two had their differences, but grew as men and players together, and eventually created a special bond that will be remembered for decades to come.
