There’s more debate than nostalgia about the Lakers’ three-peat run that started this century. It’s never ‘what a great team.’ It was always, ‘was it Kobe’s team’ or ‘it is Shaq’s team.’ The very guys at the heart of it differed. Shaquille O’Neal has grown out of his hotheaded ways when he used to suit up in Purple & Gold. He has a lot of regret about his drama with Kobe Bryant and speaks highly of his Los Angeles teammates. One of the more underrated guys on that roster stands tall on Shaq’s pedestal.

When he hosted Shaquille O’Neal on his podcast, Armchair Expert, Dax Shepard could objectively say one thing about another ex-Lakers star that was not Shaq or Kobe. “I think if I would have been bros with anybody on that team, it’d be Robert Horry.” Shaq wholeheartedly agreed and went a step further. “I love Horry. You know, Kobe and I get a lot of credit, but we definitely would not have won any without the others. So, I always try to share the name. Big Shot Bob saved both of our a-s a lot.”

He’s not wrong. Robert Horry won seven championship rings by ‘saving’ his teammates at clutch time. Although he was regarded as a mediocre role-player, Big Shot Bob earned that name for making the most crucial shots for his teams, including in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers were down 2-1 against the Kings, and Game 4 looked almost bleak. The Kings had a two-point lead with two seconds left. O’Neal and Bryant had missed their shots. Vlade Divac knocked the ball before it reached the rim, but it landed in Robert Horry’s hands. Big Shot Bob took the shot beyond the arc and nailed a buzzer-beater Hollywood style. The Lakers won 100-99, went on to the finals, and won their third consecutive title.

Horry cemented his reputation as a clutch performer again. But that’s not the only reason he’s one of Shaq’s favorite teammates.

Shaquille O’Neal and Robert Horry’s friendly rivalry

Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t often advocate Hall of Fame honors for other players (Rudy Gobert would argue it’s the opposite, in fact). He did for Robert Horry, though. Shaq, Kobe Bryant, and Hakeem Olajuwon have all campaigned for Horry to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. O’Neal even responded to a poll on this subject on X.com with “The answer is HMF Yes, and yes I’m yelling.”

Horry humbly dismisses HoF honors for himself. Regardless, he reciprocates Shaq’s brotherhood like sort of agreeing on O’Neal’s opinions about Rudy Gobert recently. On Shepard’s podcast, Shaq gave shoutouts to Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, and Gary Payton Sr., too. Not only for their support on the court. “He [Horry] was a great guy, and they really respected me. They knew me. They understood me.”

That shows. Despite sweeping O’Neal in the 1995 Finals, Horry has publicly stated that Prime Shaq was better than Hakeem Olajuwon. It’s because of getting a taste of Shaq as an opponent much earlier. Horry used to be a college star at Alabama. Until he went up against LSU’s dominant force, that was Shaquille O’Neal.

An Alabama-LSU matchup was billed as a ‘battle’ of two great foes. Horry corrected, “It ain’t like a battle. Shaq dunks all over Robert Horry.” O’Neal was massive and breaking backboards well before he went #1 in the 1992 NBA draft. Horry spent their college game getting out of the mountainous Big Diesel and getting dunked on.

Now they laugh over their past rivalry. And ideally, these two are the kind of teammates whose stories we love to hear.