Sometimes, a fight is necessary for teammates to move forward. But for Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, their fight pushed the two men further away before either would forgive the other. Former NBA star Olden Polynice remembers how it went down. He shared some unknown details about the iconic rivalry during a recent appearance on Byron Scott’s Fastbreak program.
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Polynice was asked whether The Diesel ever said he was sorry to the Black Mamba. “They did apologize to each other on that show when they talked about it,” recalled the 60-year-old vet. Funnily enough, it was something that Shaq never wanted to discuss, especially not with his friends.
“We have never talked about it. We see each other all the time. We don’t bring stuff like that up,” added Polynice. Still, Polynice saw the hate in O’Neal’s eyes when everything was going down, and he couldn’t recall any other moment the four-time NBA Champion was that enraged.
“I’ve been playing against Shaq since ’92. We’ve gotten into it and we’re boys. That’s the most angry I’ve ever seen him,” he revealed. “They can say whatever they want but there was a hatred and ‘I want to kill this man look’ in his eyes in that moment.”
“That’s when I knew…something’s going on,” he added. “And the next thing you know he in Miami.” This got a huge laughs from Scott and the rest of the co-hosts, including Polynice, who was cackling as if he were headlining at the Apollo.
The thing is that his story lines up. The Diesel and the Mamba feuded for nearly four years before the big man was eventually sent off to the Heat. Fortunatley, he would find success, winning his final ring in a Miami uniform alongside Dwyane Wade.
But years later, the iconic duo would reconcile. Kobe said in a 2018 interview with The Player’s Tribune that Shaq was like a brother to him. “Sometimes you fight, but the respect is always there,” he said at the time.
Kobe and Shaq discussed their differences on a broadcast
The story that Polynice mentioned was a real thing. Kobe and Shaq had a friendly recollection of some of their fights, both verbal and physical, on Players Only. Aside from just sharing some moments of their tiff that made them laugh, Kobe remembered the exact instance when he knew he and Shaq spoke the same language about winning.
“I’m looking at this and I’m saying, man he wants this thing. It affects him. It consumes him, and from that moment on I knew we spoke the same language. “
“I think I can remember the first time we had our first fight…” – @kobebryant #PlayersOnly pic.twitter.com/IOS6FTjREt
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
Shaq and Kobe started as teammates, became rivals, and ended as brothers. Their early years were full of tension, pride, and big personalities. But over time, they laughed about the past and showed real respect. You could see they cared about each other.
Their story was more than titles and feuds. It was about growth and learning to forgive. When Kobe died, Shaq’s pain said it all. In the end, their bond mattered more than the drama ever did.
