Shaquille O’Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic, and from his very first season in the league, it was clear that he would become one of the best players to ever play in the NBA.
During his time with the Magic, Shaq reached the NBA Finals once, but Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets destroyed the Magic quite easily. Following that, it was only a matter of time before the big man left the Magic for a better team.
Well, in 1996, O’Neal did just that as he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. For most, O’Neal was the clear-cut leader of the team. But there was one person in particular who would, later on, have a lot of feuds with the seven-footer.
Yes, we are talking about none other than the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Although Shaq and Kobe formed a dynamic duo and won three NBA Championships together, they could have won more had they stayed together.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Explains Why Shaq And Kobe Broke Up
Someone might think after winning three rings in four NBA Finals appearances, Shaq and Kobe would want to continue to play together. Well, in reality, that was far from the case.
The two players couldn’t coexist due to their clashing egos. Keeping that in mind, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently explained why he thought that Kobe never really accepted the Lakers as Shaq’s team.
Via Substack:
There’s a great scene in the episode showing Magic saying that it was Kareem’s team and he was just there to help me out. When asked about Shaq as the team leader, Kobe’s response was, “Fuck that m**********r!” That pretty much sums up why the team struggled so much to win.
Part of Kobe’s anger stemmed from his belief that Shaq did not take the game as seriously as he did. Kobe was dedicated to staying in shape and improving his game in every way he could. For Kobe, Shaq waited until the last minute to get into shape for the season. Shaq postponed foot surgery so it kept him out of much of the season instead of getting the surgery done well before the season. If I had to play with someone of his less intense work ethic, I’d be torn too. But when he was ready, Shaq brought a lot to the table.
In the end, their losing was less about their petty drama than about the lack of a strong supporting cast. They needed more players they could rely on.
As mentioned by Kareem, Kobe was someone who took the game of basketball very seriously. There’s a reason why KAJ hailed Bryant as incredibly mature, even during his rookie season.
On the other hand, Shaq was blessed with talents. He got by doing the bare minimum at times and still dominated the game. Due to the striking differences in their personalities, the duo was bound to break up at one point or another.
