The hardest choice in basketball? Picking between two greats. MJ or LeBron? Wilt or Russell? Shaq or Kobe? The “what-ifs” between eras are endless. But one of the most raw, emotional ”rivalries” the NBA ever saw was right inside the Lakers’ locker room—Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal. Their eventual fallout became the stuff of legend. While both have shared their own takes on that battle for glory, someone who’d been around them for decades—and saw the cracks forming up close, just offered a new perspective. And no, he doesn’t think their competition was to blame.

Gary VittiFast BreakIt’s easy to blame Kobe, and it’s easy to blame Shaq. What about the rest of us, including me?”

Vitti, holding back tears, compared the Lakers to a family. “You might get angry with your mom or your dad or your brother, sister. But you don’t stop loving them… And in that era, we stopped loving each other. And when that happened, people started choosing sides.” It’s a line that hits harder when you remember the history.

Shaq, reportedly jealous of Kobe’s jersey sales in 1998, the “inside joke” mocking Kobe during All-Star introductions in 2000, and the open feuds when Shaq came into camp out of shape in 2001. Phil Jackson even called them both “juvenile.” By then, the fight for glory had gone from competition to division.

Vitti pleaded guilty, “We should have won 10 championships today. There’s other players, there’s management, there’s ownership, coaches, people chose sides. Hey, people on the team, players chose sides, right? Coaches chose sides. The fans chose sides, okay? And it was divisive, and the whole thing crumbled, okay? And it didn’t have to. And I think that I’m as guilty as everyone else.”

 By 2003-04, even with stars like

Karl Malone and Gary Payton in the mix, nobody was safe from the tension. Public shots were being fired, team dinners were skipped, and friendships were on shaky ground. Phil Jackson had to step in and tell Kobe and Shaq to shut up, while Brian Shaw found himself playing peacemaker after Shaquille O’Neal yelled, “pay me” at Dr. Buss. And it didn’t end there—after his trade to Miami in 2005, Shaq said, “He [Buss] had to make a choice, the young guy [Bryant] or the old guy. He made his choice, and good luck with his choice.” Years later, he even shifted the blame, claiming Phil sensationalized the whole feud to the media. In the end, it felt like the drama had pulled everyone into its orbit.

But don’t think there wasn’t competition between the two. While Vitti believes Kobe and Shaq aren’t to blame, both have admitted over time they wanted to beat each other to a championship. That drive just added more fuel to the fire.

Shaquille O’Neal pushed Kobe Bryant’s buttons to spark wins

Shaquille O’Neal once likened his dynamic with Kobe Bryant to something out of The Godfather—calculated, strategic, and never accidental. Sitting down on Armchair Expert, he admitted flat out, “Because I wanted to win before he [Kobe] did.” After their split, Shaq wasn’t just chasing a championship with Miami; he was chasing bragging rights.

“People don’t understand everything I did was planned… I don’t want us to get along. I want us to f— win.” In his mind, the best way to get Kobe to that level was to poke at him—sometimes hard. He painted the picture himself: “He’s [Kobe] Michael. Yes, I’m the Godfather… when I came to LA, I was already established… I was the biggest thing in the league. So, he’s there and he wants it.”

And Shaq made sure Kobe knew exactly where he stood. “This ain’t your team. This my team, little m———–. They can scream Kobe all they want, this my m———— team.” He knew those words would light a fire. The result?

Kobe would “go shoot a million times” just to prove him wrong—and Shaq loved it. If he dropped 28–30 points and Kobe tried to top him, that was 60 combined points for the Lakers. “I knew exactly what I was doing,” he said. “If I know you’re going to give me your best when you’re upset, I’m gonna make you upset.” Even Phil Jackson was part of the mind game—when Brian Shaw once asked why Phil never scolded Kobe, Phil simply said, “I always want Kobe to be in attack mode.” Shaq’s reaction? Perfect. “I knew exactly what I was doing… the more marketability we have, the more money we have.”

And in the end, both got what they wanted—just not together. Shaq grabbed his first title without Kobe Bryant in 2006, while Kobe went on to win back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. For Kobe, it was personal: “It was always the challenge of, ‘Kobe can’t win without Shaq,’ right?… I didn’t want to hear that.” But despite the jabs, the competition, and the media framing it as a rivalry where fans had to pick sides, there was still respect. Gary Vitti reflected, “Shaq was hurt. Doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have played… but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t hurt, right?”

The story of Shaq and Kobe was never just about tension—it was about two relentless competitors who knew exactly how to push each other to greatness.