Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant shared a complicated past. O’Neal, who upon his arrival to LA, immediately wanted to become Kobe’s big brother was on one side. While Kobe had no need for such individuals was on the other side. Both destined for greatness, unable to bear one another but forced to exist on the same team.
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The only natural conclusion was the clash of two humongous egos. What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force? Everything in the surrounding area is destroyed. The same happened with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s clashes.
The one clash, though, that stood out for everyone was during an NBA lockout pickup game. As per Olden Polynice, Bryant barely survived grave injury that day.
Shaquille O’Neal would have gravely injured Kobe Bryant
In his book Three-Ring Circus, Jeff Pearlman detailed the infamous brawl that broke out between Shaq and Kobe. In 1998-99, Shaq was easily at his peak. There was no denying who the Lakers franchise belonged to.
But for Mamba, who was on a fast rise, it did not matter. For him, the Lakers belonged to whoever was the best. In his head, there was no one as good as him. So, when the lockout shut down all games, Kobe and Shaq visited a school gym to play pickups.
They were on different teams and going at each other incessantly. Kobe Bryant, who was making some quality shots around and over Shaq, began to taunt the 7ft 1″ giant. It didn’t sit too well with him and the two eventually came to blows.
Olden Polynice, a 6ft 11″ center, revealed that if he had not held back Shaq, things would have become dangerous for Kobe Bryant.
Polynice: “Then Shaq swung again at Kobe, but he missed. Shit! I run over and grab Shaq, because I’m big enough to do so. And Shaq keeps swinging, but everything’s missing because I have his arms. I’m grabbing on to Shaq, holding on for dear life, yelling, ‘Somebody grab Kobe! Seriously—somebody grab him!’ Because I’m holding Shaq and Kobe’s taking swings at him. At one point Shaq gets an arm loose and he pops me in the head. Seriously, no good deed goes unpunished. And I’m telling you, if Shaq gets loose he would have killed Kobe Bryant. I am not exaggerating. It was along the lines of an I-want-to-kill-you-right-now punch. He wanted to end Kobe’s life in that moment.”
Kobe eventually became the face of the Lakers’ franchise
In 2004, the Lakers lost the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons. After the game, Jerry Buss called up all the players and their partners for a party. Shaq and Shaunie also arrived in style, hoping to talk to the boss.
However, Buss paid them no attention. Instead, he ended up talking to only Kobe Bryant and Vanessa. Shaq and Shaunie immediately knew they had lost. O’Neal was traded to Miami and Kobe became the main man. No punches could have changed Buss’s preference for Bryant after all.
