Kobe Bryant’s competitive fire was the stuff of legend. He held himself to impossibly high standards and expected nothing less from the players around him. Every practice, every possession, and all the offseason workouts were battles to be better than he was the day before. While the mindset propelled Kobe to the peak of NBA success, it also made him a “less enjoyable” teammate to play with.
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Kobe held his teammates to the same standard and wanted them to strive for greatness as well. There’s a popular clip of Kobe relentlessly talking trash to Jeremy Lin in 2014.
Instances like that were common in the Lakers camp as it was Kobe’s way of testing whether his teammates were ready for high-pressure moments. Although it might’ve seemed harsh to those players at the time, Kobe used to acknowledge that it wasn’t easy being his teammate. During a 2015 interview with GQ, the Black Mamba talked about how he was as a teammate.
He said, “Does my nature make me less enjoyable to play with? Of course,” he says. “Of course it does. Is it possible that some top players in the league are intimidated by that? Yes. But do I want to play with those players? Does the Laker organization want those specific players? No.”
Kobe did luck out a few times with teammates like Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace, but it was nearly impossible to build a roster of like-minded individuals. So, which players would’ve been his ideal teammates? Well, Kobe had a list. He said, “Magic. Jordan. Bird. We all would have been phenomenal teammates.”
The late legend couldn’t be criticized for wanting to be great, but his mentality did lead to his feud with the biggest superstar he ever played with.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘feud’ in the past
The duo of Shaq and Kobe, often regarded as the greatest one-two punch in NBA history, three-peated the NBA title. In the early 2000s, they seemed invincible and were running through their opposition with ease. However, their on-court success was often overshadowed by off-court tensions, stemming from their strong, contrasting personalities.
Kobe’s unmatched work ethic and commitment to the game were the polar opposite of Shaq’s personality. The big fella enjoyed his leisure time, ate whatever he felt like, and wasn’t too hard on himself when it came to practice. Shaq’s philosophy was that as long as he was providing results, he didn’t have anything to worry about.
The tension between the two superstars reached a point where it nearly led to Kobe’s departure from the Lakers. In 2004, the Lakers faced a pivotal decision and ultimately chose to trade Shaq to the Miami Heat.
However, Kobe’s death had a profound impact on Shaq. Shaq admitted in a 2022 interview that he wished he had patched up with the legend earlier. But since both were very successful and led busy lives being in their own paths, they never got together as much as they did at the Lakers in their younger days.
Shaq called their feud ‘juvenile’ but claimed that he never wished ill for Kobe, especially when they stepped on to the court, playing alongside each other. Pushing each other to be the best was important and it’s safe to say that Shaq was helped by Kobe’s competitiveness.
