Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant may have formed arguably the greatest 1-2 punches in the history of the NBA. However, while they created symphonies that would make Mozart cry himself to sleep, off the court, their chemistry was about as melodious as a cat being tortured to death.
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In the end, despite winning a three-peat together, the duo eventually decided they couldn’t stay together, and that like all good things, their time together was destined to end. And so, in the annals of NBA history, it is now said that it’s Kobe Bryant caused Shaquille O’Neal to be traded to the Miami Heat.
And yet, as it turns out, reality is very different from this narrative. You see, some time ago, Shaquille O’Neal sat down for an interview, where he spoke about a myriad of things. And while he was on the topic of the Lakers, he revealed the real reason he left the Purple and Gold.
Shaquille O’Neal left due to money and pride
Shaquille O’Neal has always been known to exaggerate absolutely everything. The man has so much experience with what is essentially lying, that people even believed it when he told them that he left because of Kobe Bryant.
But, it appears that his conscience may have been biting at his big behind for years. Because in a move that made the world more confused than a homeless man under house arrest, the man decided to admit this on the topic of his trade to the Heat, from the Lakers.
“The reason I got traded, it wasn’t about me and Kobe (Bryant’s) beef. (It was) because they (the Lakers) wanted me to take less money. I’m not doing that!
I got money, I had money. I just should’ve been like ‘alright, I raise you enough. It’s your team now. I know what I’m going to do. I’m still going to do my 28 (points), and 10 (rebounds)’. But I was like ‘Nah, I want $150 (million).’”
Frankly, this is far different from the narrative that was generally believed by the masses. But, it does seem like the likeliest scenario, given the way Shaq was back then. At the very least though, it is commendable that the man at least came clean about all of it himself, despite being unprompted by anyone. So perhaps time really does make people a bit wiser.
How much did Shaquille O’Neal get paid by Miami when he got traded there?
As per reports today, Shaquille O’Neal was paid a then-blockbuster amount of $100 million over the course of 5 years. This brought his annual salary during this period all the way up to $20 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid players in the NBA at the time.
