Kobe Bryant and Shaq may have ended their careers on good terms, but it certainly didn’t start off that way as the two had major beef with each other.
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Despite having a lot of success with each other early in their careers, Shaq and Kobe didn’t always see eye to eye with each other when it came to how the Lakers would operate as a team.
Shaq was the more care-free, do-what-you-what kind of person off the court, but on the court, he still wanted all the attention and wanted to be the man for the Lakers.
The formula worked as the Lakers won a title in 2000. However, the next year, things would escalate dramatically, and eventually the feud between the two teammates reached a point to where they couldn’t remain on the same team together. The Lakers chose to stick with Kobe, and Shaq was traded to the Heat.
The beef even reached personal levels when Kobe was going through trial after being accused of rape during the 2003-04 season.
Kobe Bryant and Shaq took shots at each other for paying money off
Shaq repeatedly took issue with Kobe missing time during that training camp due to his legal battles, and even called out Kobe once, saying that the Lakers were his team and that the entire team was present despite the fact that Kobe was in Colorado.
Of course, the charges against Kobe were dropped after the witness refused to testify, but the case clearly had an effect on Shaq and Kobe’s relationship.
While being interviewed by the Colorado police, Kobe made the following statement, saying, “He (Bryant) should have done what Shaq does … that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything” and that Shaq had already paid up to $1 million “for situations like this.”
Shaq had a response ready for Kobe, however. “I never hang out with Kobe, I never hung around him,” he said. “In the seven or eight years we were together, we were never together. So how this guy can think he knows anything about me or my business is funny. And one last thing — I’m not the one buying love. He’s the one buying love.”
You can understand why the Lakers were put in the awkward position of having to choose between Shaq or Kobe. There was no chance the off-court chemistry issues wouldn’t start impacting the team eventually, and so, LA chose to stick with Kobe, and the rest is history.
Shaq and Kobe did finally mend their relationship, but it took a long time. After everything is said and done though, the two are remembered most for leading the Lakers to the top of the NBA world, being the last team to three-peat(2000, 2001, and 2002).
