In the NBA, there are times when teammates have arguments with one another. In some ways, it is almost unavoidable: no two players are going to agree 100% of the time.
However, there are times when arguments end up growing into full-on beef. One notable superstar beef featured Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. Though the two superstars managed to three-peat together, they had a lot of disagreements off the court.
Recently, Shaquille O’Neal claimed that he and Kobe Bryant didn’t actually have beef with one another, framing it as “a disagreement at times”. He claimed that he would never let their disagreements about basketball “spill over to real life”, adding that it’s not as if he’d fight someone in front of their kids. (44:02)
It wasn’t really beef. It was a disagreement at times because he wanted to shoot all the time and I was like you gotta pass it to me all the time.
I would never spill over to real life because you know, at the end of the day, I got to go home to my children. If I see you out, it’s not like Imma beat you up in front of your kids
Obviously, this is a huge admission from Shaquille O’Neal. From what it sounds like, O’Neal had a disagreement with Kobe Bryant about how they should play basketball as a duo rather than hating the person himself.
Shaquille O’Neal Thinks The Lakers Could Have Won Seven Championships If He And Kobe Bryant Stayed Together
There is no doubt that despite their issues with one another, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant made up an elite duo. Many have wondered how many championships they could have won had O’Neal not been traded to the Miami Heat.
Previously, Shaquille O’Neal claimed that the Lakers would have managed to win seven championships if he stayed in Los Angeles, noting that he mostly got traded because the team wanted him to “take less money”.
Seven. Cause the reason why I got traded, it wasn’t me and Kobe beef, it was they wanted me to take less money… I got money, I had money. I just should have been like “Alright, I’ve raised you enough. It’s your team now. I know what I’m gonna do, I’m still gonna do my 28 and 10″… The ego still got me what I wanted, I still went to Miami, Pat took care of me, and I still won one. But I would have liked to stay there (Los Angeles) for the rest of my career.
There is no doubt that it would have been fun for fans to see Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s partnership for a longer period of time. They were effective on the court together, and they are the only two superstars to three-peat since Michael Jordan.
It is clear that Shaquille O’Neal respects Kobe Bryant, despite their arguments during their time together in Los Angeles. Their time there will never be forgotten, and both are clearly among the best Lakers players of all time.
