Lakers Head Coach Darvin Ham spells out what cost Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal the 2004 NBA Championship

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, Darvin Ham elaborates on the same

In the 1990s, the NBA was completely dominated by one man and his team. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls reigned over the NBA during the decade, winning 6x Championships in 8 years. Several teams tried, but the only thing that could stop those Bulls was Michael Jordan going into retirement. After MJ retired for a second time, the other teams scrambled, looking to become the next team to dominate.

The Los Angeles Lakers, having Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, became the closest to do so. The Lakers won three championships in a row, becoming the first to do so since MJ and his Bulls, and the last team to accomplish the feat, till date.

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It seemed like the Lakers had the perfect one-two duo punch. However, just like all good things, their partnership also ended. After losing the 2004 Finals, the Lakers traded Shaq to the Heat. Former Piston, and current Lakers Head Coach, Darvin Ham spoke about the 2004 Finals.

Darvin Ham explains how the dynamic was between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal

Things between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal weren’t really good, heading into the 2003-04 season. Losing to the Spurs in the 2003 playoffs had shaken the team up, and there was a power struggle between the team’s two top dogs.

Shaquille O’Neal wanted it to be clear that he was the alpha on the team. However, Kobe Bryant wasn’t ready to accept the same. This beef continued all the way to the Finals, where Darvin Ham was against the duo, as part of the Pistons.

Explaining the situation, Ham said,

“They was beefing, that’s what I remember. Not on a personal [level] per se. I wasn’t there every day with them, but you can see on the court the energy wasn’t right,” Ham said on a recent podvast appearance. ” … I just remember that team, the energy around that team, in particular being between Shaq and Kobe on the court, it just didn’t seem right. Something just seemed a little bit off.”

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If the two had actually sat down and resolved their issues, instead of letting them build up, the Lakers might have had many more rings to their name.