Shaquille O’Neal Recalls His Painful Beef With Kobe Bryant
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Lakers Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal sit on the bench with foul trouble against the Timberwolves in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center Monday. (Photo by Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Regardless of how successful they were together, there was always a strata of fans that believed Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant didn’t get along. Unfortunately, there was nothing either of them could do to change their minds. Sure, there may have been some difference of opinion at times; however, there was never any unsolvable dispute as such. Recently, Shaq spoke about his exit from the Lakers roster.
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Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. These two names have gone down in the history books of the Los Angeles Lakers. Winning three titles together, very few outlasted the pair in terms of physicality and quality. While Mamba Kobe was an effortless perfectionist, the ‘Big Aristotle’ destroyed opposition while playing as a center-forward. However, the duo was eventually separated and succeeded in different franchises.
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2009 All-Star Game Memories with Shaq & Kobe pic.twitter.com/AjnYj0vCZV
— David Astramskas (@Redapples2021) February 15, 2022
Shaquille O’Neal recalls the relentlessness of the Lakers before showing him the exit doors
One of the most prominent stories of the weeks gone by has been the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade. Talking with NBA legend Tracy McGrady, Shaq addressed the side effects of the deal. While McGrady felt like there were reports that protected Harden, the 15-time All-Star believed that there is no room for protection in this field. At least during his time.
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – NOVEMBER 27: Shaquille O’Neal reacts during the first half of a game between the LSU Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
On ‘The Big Podcast With Shaq’, O’Neal told McGrady, “I don’t know man. Did the Orlando Magic protect you? No. Did they protect me? Nah. Did they protect Dwight? Did the Lakers protect me when they were trying to get rid of me? No man, that’s a part of the game T-Mac. You know that. Part of the game.”
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Interestingly, LA and the Buss family chose Kobe over Shaq, way back in 2004. As a result, the giant moved to Miami, where he ended up winning his 4th and final championship.
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Irrespective of what unfolded, Shaq has always said that what had to be done was done. In fact, he always cherishes the time he spent at LA, and credited Kobe for the player he was. Aside from the minor blips, we were blessed to have witnessed a golden era of basketball!
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