Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal might be two of the game’s greatest duos ever. During their stint as teammates for the Los Angeles Lakers, the pairing terrorized the league, dominating defenders on a nightly basis.
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In those 8 years, Shaq and Kobe led the Purple & Gold to 8 straight playoff appearances, 4 NBA Finals, and won 3 championships.
There is no denying that the two legends were masters of their craft who complemented each other’s style of play. However good their on-court chemistry was, the superstars’ relationship off the court wasn’t as great.
The two had their differences and would barely agree upon the same thing. Their rocky bond was even one of the factors that drove the Diesel away from LA.
Also Read: Shaquille O’Neal Is Flabbergasted At A ‘Top 10’ List Without The Lakers Guard
Kobe Bryant was offended when Shaquille O’Neal commented on his game
At one point during the dying days of Shaq’s stint as a Laker, the two had yet another misunderstanding. As mentioned in Three-Ring Circus, while Bryant seemed to be coming off an injury, O’Neal spoke to the media and stated that Kobe needed to rely more on his teammates.
Of course, the Black Mamba was not amused by the 7-footer’s comments. As a reaction, the guard stormed into Phil Jackson’s office in hopes to get the head coach to sympathize with him. Much to his belief, Jackson revealed that he wasn’t against any of Shaq’s comments. The excerpt from the book read:
On October 25, Jackson was in his office watching video of the Mavericks when Bryant walked in, fuming. “He popped off!” Bryant said. Jackson didn’t have to ask for the ‘He’ to be identified. “You’re kidding me,” Jackson replied. “What did he say?” “Did you read the paper?” Bryant said. “It’s in the paper.” Indeed it was. And O’Neal’s quote was historically scandalous. He told the Los Angeles Times that Bryant (wait for it . . . wait for it) needed to rely more on teammates until he regained strength. Which was, eh, correct.
“Kobe, what’s wrong with this?” Jackson asked. “Shaq is right. This is exactly what we want you to do.” “Maybe,” Bryant replied. “But it’s not his business to say that. He can’t be talking about my game, about what I should be doing.” “You’re not gonna take offense at something like that, are you?” Jackson asked. “It doesn’t make any sense.” “Yeah,” Bryant said. “I am.”
How did the Lakers fare in Shaq’s last season at LA?
The 2003-2004 season was supposed to be a redemption year for the California-based franchise. After clinching a three-peat, the San Antonio Spurs knocked them out of the 2003 postseason.
The All-Star duo of Shaq and Kobe was sensational. While the big man averaged 21.5/11.5/2.9, the 6-foot-6 combo guard put up 24/5.5/5.1. Leading the Lakers to a 56-win campaign, Kobe and Shaq would help LAL enter the postseason as the #2 seed.
After defeating the Rockets, the Spurs, and the Timberwolves to be crowned as the Western Conference champs, Jackson’s boys came up short in the finals, losing 4-1 against the Detroit Pistons.
Following the defeat, O’Neal parted ways with the franchise, Phil Jackson retired, and Kobe had 3 tough years failing to get the Lakers past the first round of the playoffs. A bitter end for what can perhaps be considered as the greatest 1-2 punch in NBA history.
