When Shaquille O’Neal left the Lakers in 2004 for the Heat, it marked the end of a dynasty era led by the brotherly duo of Kobe Bryant and O’Neal at the time. They won three championships together, in each of which Shaquille O’Neal was awarded the Finals MVP.
However, it was reported that they eventually developed an internal conflict that led to O’Neal getting traded for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a future first-round pick at the time. This fact influenced the media narrative of how they saw Kobe Bryant’s role in the championship.
Gilbert Arenas agrees with the opinion that Kobe Bryant initiated the conflict with Shaquille O’Neal intentionally because he wanted to get the respect he deserved as the “next Michael Jordan” at the time. While discussing the ring culture in the NBA with Dan Patrick, he recalled what Kobe Bryant had to do to prove that he was among the top 10 players in NBA history and get his respect.
“There’s a reason Kobe’s at 10, there’s a reason Kobe with three rings pushed Shaq away. Because when he had the three rings and he was saying, ‘Hey, I’m Michael Jordan.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, well, Shaq is carrying you.’ And he’s like ‘Wait, what, no wait hold on no you told me that I’m the next thing to Michael Jordan, why are you not treating me like that?’ So now it’s ‘Well, I need to get rid of him to show who I am.’ That’s why his fourth and fifth rings to him are the most special ones, they’re the sweetest ones.”
“You see the reality of it is, we’re finding out in real time, we’re told championships are everything when we’re getting them and we’re not being recognized for them, that’s when reality kicks in.”
When Dan Patrick follows up while seeking clarity on whether it would be right to say, Bryant allowed his ego to make him initiate the conflict, Arenas agreed.
“That’s exactly what it is, you’re winning, he’s getting all the credit. And he’s like ‘wait, I averaged 30 too, I did my part as well,’ why I’m not getting the equal love right?”
Kobe Bryant averaged only 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in his first stint in the NBA Finals of 2000 against the Pacers. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal was averaging 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in the same series. There was no question that O’Neal deserved the Finals MVP that season.
Bryant leaped to averaging All-Star caliber numbers in their second stint as he averaged 24.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the 2001 appearance against the Philadelphia 76ers. But O’Neal outperformed him once again and averaged 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in that series, winning the Finals MVP once again.
In the third appearance, O’Neal averaged 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, and Bryant averaged 26.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. Clearly, O’Neal once again outperformed Bryant to win the Finals MVP award.
Critics always need a reason to discount your greatness. Maybe Kobe Bryant did let the critics get into his head about being “carried: by Shaq in the Finals. There may be some merit in Arenas’ claims that Bryant allowed his ego to cloud his objective judgment and take media narratives personally to get the respect he felt he deserved at the time.
