Kobe Bryant had several similar traits to Michael Jordan. Apart from on-court mannerisms, the two guards also had numerous common intangibles. The ability to “take things personally” was one such characteristic. Shaquille O’Neal would exploit this attribute to his advantage to get a big game out of Bryant.
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Shaq explained how he would rile the Black Mamba up before matches. During an episode of The Big Podcast, O’Neal mentioned that he’d mock Mamba by talking trash to him. The 6ft 6” shooting guard would say nothing in return, allowing his game to do all the talking.
“You could talk smack to him, he wouldn’t pout. He would try to shut you up. So I used to go in and be like ‘you ain’t that good, you can’t play’ knowing I needed him in that game,” Shaq recollected.
An enraged Kobe going off for a scoring outburst would massively help the Big Aristotle to lead the Lakers to the win.
“I already know what I’m going to do. I’m gonna give you 28 to 30, but I used to piss him off so bad that he used to try to outdo me. So if he’s averaging 30 and I’m averaging 30 that’s 60 points right there were guaranteed to win,” Shaq concluded.
The All-Star duo of Shaq and Kobe had their differences off the court. They would indulge in heated debates that sometimes resulted in physical altercations. The tension between the two players also led to Shaq demanding a trade.
However, this hostile relationship thrived on the court. O’Neal was smart in figuring out how to push Bryant’s buttons to the team’s advantage. This led to a Lakers three-peat, an achievement that O’Neal was never able to replicate with Penny Hardaway or Dwyane Wade.
Who does Shaq prefer among Bryant, Hardaway, and Wade?
Shaquille O’Neal has played for six franchises across a 19-year career. He’s shared the locker room with some of the biggest names in the league’s history.
During the same podcast episode, Shaq was asked to pick among the three most notable players—Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade—with whom he spent the most time. O’Neal is known for his candidness and straightforward comments. However, he dished out a diplomatic answer to respect each of the three legendary guards.
He called Hardaway the best to play with, Bryant the “meanest”, and lauded Wade for being a combination of both.
“Kobe was the meanest. The best for me to play with was Penny Hardaway because Penny Hardaway was super unselfish. He gave me the ball every time.
“D-Wade was a mixture of both of them… I always told him ‘you’re the man and I’m just going to be your hitter’,” Shaq said.
Wade played a huge role in allowing the big man to add title #4 to his resume. However, no player contributed more than Bryant in helping Shaq build his legacy.
