The Christmas season is upon us, and everyone, including the NBA, is looking to follow up on their annual traditions. Basketball fans usually have more than one reason to look forward to this festive holiday, since each Christmas day brings with it a highly anticipated contest. Following the tradition since 1947, each season has generated excitement by pitting a couple of dominating teams/players against each other. None of them, however, could probably come close to the 2004 showdown that pitted two former teammates against each other: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

With the holiday lights twinkling and fans gathering around their television sets, the 3-peat winning teammates faced off against each other for the very first time. Looking back at that momentous occasion, the following article will explore which player was the most dominating during the iconic 19-year-old game.

What transpired during the iconic 2004 Christmas Clash?

By the time the 2004-05 season rolled around, Shaquille O’Neal had already spent 12 years in the NBA. After spending four years with the Orlando Magic, Shaq joined the Los Angles Lakers in 1996. It was there that the Big Diesel would go on to meet a 17-year-old rookie by the name of Kobe Bryant. The two built a fruitful professional relationship, working together to lead their team to an astonishing three championship wins. Things seemed to look good on the outside.

However, behind-the-scenes, there were rumors of conflicts between the duo. The 8 year-partnership that was allegedly filled with personal differences and arguments eventually concluded when Shaq joined the Miami Heat in 2004.  With their competitiveness at the fore, the Hall of Famers clashed for the first time on Christmas day, 2004. During the game, Bryant was seen getting fouled by Shaquille O’Neal multiple times. The latter made use of his huge stature by imposing himself under the basket and blocking the Black Mamba from making any close shots.

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Despite Shaq’s defensive prowess, however, Kobe managed to hold his ground. By significantly torching the Heat’s defense, the Lakers star kept attempting shots from outside the 3-point line, and even succeeded in making three 3 pointers in a row. While not pulling anything extraordinary out of the bag, Bryant kept playing his game with the same consistency as his prior games and attempted to circumvent the Heat. In the end, he was able to carry the offensive lead for the Lakers by securing 42 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.

Shaq himself wasn’t lying down when it came to offense. The 7-foot 1 player kept finishing with powerful dunks and authoritative rebounds, which helped his team take the lead during crucial moments. O’Neal and Bryant kept having an exchange of points. In the end, Shaq ended up putting a score of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Despite the fact that Bryant had secured more points, the Miami Heat ended up winning the game by 2 points.

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Much of it was thanks to the impressive contribution made by Shaq’s teammate Dwyane Wade. However, Kobe missing out on a foul shot during the final moments of the game also played a huge role in the end result.

Despite losing the game, Kobe Bryant won the hearts of the people

Despite Bryant’s miss during the final moment of the game, the author believes that he was easily the more dominant player in the game.

Both Shaq and then Lakers coach Phil Jackson had bid adieu to the roster. Therefore, Kobe had the responsibility of leading a team at a significant disadvantage. In spite of that, he managed to pull the highest points and second highest assists for his team during the game. By making a weakened Lakers team compete against a championship-caliber Miami side and losing by just two points, Kobe Bryant had ignited the hope that the team’s best days are not yet behind them. The way that the Black Mamba kept switching his short jumper and long jumper during a faceoff against Dwyane Wade made him unstoppable. By filling up the stat sheet with his free throws and 3 pointers, Kobe was as dominant as his loyal fans would have expected him to be.

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During the lead-up to the game, Shaq stated: “He’s a Corvette, I’m a brick wall” when referring to his former teammate. True to his statement, Shaq pulled off an impressive defense. However, in the end, his contribution was overshadowed by the 29 points that Wade secured for the Heat. Furthermore, Flash was the one who carried most of the game for the Heat after Shaq was benched in light of his sixth foul. These consistent fouls were definitely not something that could be counted towards his ‘dominating nature’.

The 2004 Christmas Day clash was not any regular game. It was the beginning of a new chapter of the Kobe-Shaq era. Despite the fact that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant would come head-to-head in numerous other games, none of them would quite match the spark of this particular clash. While the Miami Heat may have won the game, Kobe Bryant won the hearts of the people.

Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.