Shaquille O’Neal Once Used the Same Strategy He Employed on Kobe Bryant to Make Dwyane Wade Great

No conversation about shooting guards in the NBA goes forward without a mention of Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade. The two superstars burst into the scene around the turn of the century and firmly established themselves as franchise cornerstones in the league. They also knew Shaquille O’Neal, quite well.

Apart from being loyal servants to the franchises that drafted them, they had another factor in common. Both Wade and Bryant won their first NBA championships along with Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaquille O’Neal recalls how he used to get teammates Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade “mad” to get them to a “different level”

Also read: “What Big Man Did More Than I Did?”: Shaquille O’Neal Disputes Kobe Bryant’s ‘Not in Shape’ Argument about 3x Finals MVP

The Big Diesel was Kobe’s running mate at LA as they three-peated into the millennium. However, their relationship deteriorated and it came to a point where one of them had to leave Los Angeles. And the breakup led to the big man being moved to Miami.

It was here that Shaq paired with the next big shooting guard in the league, Dwyane Wade, to get Miami its first NBA championship. And Superman has plenty to talk about his former teammates. Including how as the senior statesman, the Big Diesel figured out how to elevate Wade and Bryant to a “different level”.

What was the “Shaquille O’Neal method” to drive Kobe and DWade to a “different level”?

As someone with a reputation as quite the jester, Big Diesel’s methods were definitely unconventional when it came to driving his young star teammates forward. Shaq spoke about how despite being in varying stages of his career, his tactic to inspire Kobe and Wade remained the same.

“Me and Kobe, we came in together. Got signed on the same day. So, we had eight years to grow. I’m going to the Heat, I’m an older player, I ain’t got time for these psychological games. What I learned to do with Kobe is, you get him mad, he plays on a different level. I knew that from the days we used to call him ‘Showboat’. I knew exactly what I was doing. Because I was the first one to see the kid when he was 18 years old. And I saw that he wanted to be great” revealed Shaq to Esquire. 

Clearly, getting fired up by Shaq worked wonders for both Kobe and Wade. The big man must really have had his way to get under the nerves of his talented teammates.

One might even wonder if it was eventually such taunts that got to Kobe and sparked the beef between the duo further.

How did Shaq’s time with Kobe compare to his time with DWade?

Having helped take his young teammates to the next level, Shaq established contenders with them at LA and Miami respectively. How exactly did his tenures compare against each other, though?

O’Neal spent 8 years in Los Angeles, the longest tenure he had with a single franchise in his career. This was also the most successful period of his career, and three rings stand as proof of the same.

At Miami, success was almost instantaneous, but not prolonged though. The Big Diesel spent only 4 years with The Flash and the Miami Heat, and the 2006 championship was the only silverware they won.

It also comes as a factor that Shaq was slowly on the decline, during his time at the Vice City. At Los Angeles, Superman was a wrecking ball to which no defenses had an answer to. At Miami though, he was practically the second star to Wade’s protagonist. A far cry from his role at LA.

Also read: Shaquille O’Neal, After Leading Kobe Bryant and Lakers to 3 NBA Championships, Needed Dwyane Wade’s Help to Beat Them on 2004 Christmas Day