Kobe Bryant ‘Fearlessly Taunted’ Shaquille O’Neal After His 7ft 1″ Teammate Flew into ‘Killing’ Rage: “You’re Soft”

 It is a known fact that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had their fair share of altercations during their time at the LA Lakers. Kobe Bryant was always of the opinion that Shaq needed to push himself more. While things generally did not turn into physical altercations, that was not always true. According to Jeff Pearlman’s Three Ring Circus, Kobe, and O’Neal once got into a violent fight.

Shaq apparently slapped Kobe during a scrimmage which was also attended by former Clippers player Olden Polynice. The Black Mamba, on the other hand, stood his ground fearlessly and continued taunting his teammate even after he was attacked.

Shaquille O’Neal was taunted by Kobe Bryant after going into a “killing rage”

O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are easily one of the most dominant NBA duos ever. However, they also had their fair share of disagreements.

During the 1998 NBA lockout, things escalated into a serious physical altercation. According to Olden Polynice, Shaquille O’Neal slapped Kobe, and seriously wanted to “kill him.”

Polynice himself got in the middle and held Shaquille’s arms, claiming that he felt he was holding on for his life. Polynice also revealed that he blared at people to grab Kobe Bryant.

However, Kobe stood his ground fearlessly despite O’Neal continuously taking swings at him. Polynice explained that Kobe had stood his ground, shouting at O’Neal that he was too “soft.” The altercation finally ended when O’Neal‘s bodyguard and friend Jerome Crawford walked in and calmed him down:

“Bryant was undeterred. ‘You’re soft!’ he barked. ‘Is that all you’ve got? You’re soft!’ Blount begged Bryant to stop talking. ‘You’re not helping,’ he said. ‘Just shut up.’ The altercation was finally broken up when Jerome Crawford, O’Neal’s bodyguard, walked onto the floor and calmed his friend down.”

Kobe Bryant once ranted about Shaquille O’Neal’s leadership

Speaking in an interview with ESPN’s Jim Gray in October 2003, Kobe publicly criticized O’Neal. Shaq had claimed that the Lakers were “his team,” and everybody on the roster knew it.

In response, Kobe had claimed that none of the players cared about “whose team it was.” Bryant named the likes of Gary Peyton and Karl Malone, claiming that it was time for Shaq to start acting like it was “his team.”

Kobe went on to criticize Shaquille’s fitness, and conditioning issues and claimed that the team was relying on his leadership. Kobe even claimed that O’Neal had a knack for dramatizing his injuries and simply did not show the kind of commitment that the Lakers needed from a leader.