Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s relationship is rarely defined by what the two accomplished together. Instead, the story is about the beef that developed during their time as teammates. While it stemmed from different approaches to the same goal of winning games, their partnership was once one more than just teammates depending on each other but of close friends who cared deeply for each other’s well-being.
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For a relationship to reach the extremes of hatred that Shaq and Kobe’s did, they needed to have been extremely close. There’s a saying that love and hate are two sides of the same coin, and it’s clear there was a point when these two did love each other. Kobe used to really enjoy playing with Shaq.
Jerry Treatman, one of Kobe Bryant’s high school coaches, was featured in Ronald Lazenby’s 2016 book, Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant. Treatman exposed the early state of Kobe’s relationship with Shaq, revealing it as a time when the two would go out together, celebrating the evenings with fun and laughter.
“At first he loved Shaq,” Treatman said, recalling a time when Kobe prepared to go out on the town, and Treatman thought he’d be included. Treatman was awestruck by the idea of going out with the two superstars.
However, Lazenby wrote, “As [Treatman] walked with them to the limo… Bryant suddenly turned and said, ‘See you later!'” And it became clear that Shaq was taking the former coach’s place. “They went to see some jazz band. For a second, I thought I was going.”
The two stars were close. According to Treatman, “When people say they hated each other from the beginning, I say, no way. Joe and Kobe knew Shaq was signing. They wanted to play with Shaq.” The fallout of their egos took longer. “The animosity came later, over time, with the power struggle. From what I saw that first year in the league, they were pretty tight.”
The end of an era
The downfall of the early 2000s Lakers comes down to a butting of heads. Shaq and Kobe had different ideas about how the team should’ve played. Both wanted the ball in their hand. It was easy to balance the riff between the phenoms when the team was winning by filling in the gaps with role players. However, when the winning stopped, the fighting began.
The two truly hated each other by the end of their Lakers pairing. Between rap beefs and Shaq’s early success upon being traded to the Heat, it took years for the Bryant and O’Neal to reconcile. While that process was slow, we eventually saw that moment of acceptance during a filmed conversation they shared.
As young men, they fought, but as adults, they came to the same conclusion that most siblings find. There was no one they’d rather have in their corner than each other.
