Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant‘s well-known conflicts during their time with the LA Lakers are no secret. Yet, it’s crucial to recall that their relationship wasn’t entirely negative. In fact, they also motivated each other at critical moments, especially on the court. A recent video has captivated social media, and understandably so—it vividly highlights their shared greatness.
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During a game against their then-Western Conference rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, Shaq was finding it hard to dominate Tim Duncan at the rim and was even blocked completely on one occasion. To motivate his big man, a very young Kobe decided to encourage him through a profanity-laced speech, something fans can’t seem to get enough of today. He said,
“Put that b*tch a** n**** through the goddamn hole”
LEAKED Audio Of Kobe Bryant Motivating Shaquille O’Neal Against Tim Duncan👀:
“Put that b*tch a** n**** through the goddamn hole” pic.twitter.com/VbNIM6brQ2
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) July 13, 2024
Especially during the prime of the Los Angeles Lakers’ dynastical run during the late 1990s to the early 2000s, the duo really knew how to motivate one another. And of course, with the San Antonio Spurs standing right alongside them as contenders at the time, both players wanted to dominate this team over all others.
During most games against the Spurs, Bryant engaged in trash-talking. After all, as many know, he was an avid trash-talker during his career, perhaps one of the greatest ever at the craft. In fact, as Gilbert Arenas put it, it wasn’t the crass kind of smack that the Lakers legend talked. Rather, it was the kind that would force you to think.
Kobe Bryant talked “intelligent” trash
The Black Mamba just loved to talk smack to all his opponents. However, as Gilbert Arenas revealed, rather than being nothing more than a little battle of words, it was mental warfare with him. During a 2022 interview with Fubo Sports, he said,
“He just poked… It was intelligent trash. He made you always second guess everything you’re doing… It was just one of those things, when you played him, you’re playing a mental war.”
Despite being one of the greatest ever purely based on his skill, Bryant would continuously look for ways to get any kind of leg up on his opposition during games. And once he found it, there was nowhere to go but humiliation town for his opponents.
