Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s time together in LA wasn’t a fairy tale. Despite their success together on the court, it was more of an action thriller behind the scenes. No one knew when it would turn into a brawl. in fact, it did turn into a brawl when 7ft 1″ Shaq punched a young Kobe. In his book Shaq Uncut, O’Neal revealed that the animosity may have started when Bryant was just a rookie.
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Shaquille O’Neal’s feud with Kobe Bryant is not a secret, it’s a well-known fact that dictated much of the early 2000s. It was their feud that finally ended the reign of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty.
O’Neal often claimed how it all started because Kobe refused to pass and suggested that it was his team. Shaq wasn’t too impressed by the young Bryant’s claims of being the main star of the team. His dissatisfaction turned into anger and the feud came to life. However, it seems that there may have been another trigger early in their life.
Kobe Bryant complained about Shaquille O’Neal to Jerry West
In his book Shaq Uncut, O’Neal revealed his tradition of hazing rookies. The 7ft 1″ justified by calling it a custom. He revelled in the fact that Derek Fisher took it quietly. However, Bryant, who was just 18 at the time, reached out to his GM for help.
O’Neal: “My first season we had a couple of rookies, and we hazed them pretty badly. We were dogging them out constantly. It was “Go get my bags, go get me something to eat.” It was kind of a rite of passage in the NBA that a lot of teams do, but we probably went a little too far with it. One of the rookies—Derek Fisher—just took it. The other rookie—Kobe Bryant—ratted us out to Jerry. Talk about a bad start with your veteran teammates.”
It’s comforting to know that Shaquille O’Neal, at the time of writing his book, recognized his wrong. As a successful athlete, he should have instead looked out for his rookies, helped them develop and cope with the pressures of playing under the gaze of billions.
Jerry West came to Bryant’s rescue
The only man who was sane enough and strong enough to tell Shaquille O’Neal the absolute truth was Jerry West. The Lakers legend signed O’Neal and though he respected his big man, he wasn’t shy of reprimanding him.
Shaq in his 2011 biography wrote of the repercussions of his ‘rite-to-passage’ hazing.
Shaquille O’Neal: ” Jerry called me into his office and absolutely crucified me. He was really ticked off about it. “The kid is eighteen years old, and the two of you can win five championships if you just work together, and already you’re down his throat,” he said. “What the hell are you thinking? Be smarter than that. Be a leader!” If I closed my eyes, I could have sworn it was Philip Harrison talking to me.”
It is apparent how O’Neal shared a close bond with West. O’Neal likely thought of him as a father figure, comparable to Harrison. He listened to his GM and slowly changed his ways.
