Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are arguably the most legendary duo in the history of the NBA. When they were together on the Los Angeles Lakers, they won a three-peat, dominating just about everyone else along the way. And while they eventually made peace with one another, they had some serious beef for a while.
Isaiah Rider, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2000-01 season, told a hilarious story about their issues. In 2020, he said on the All The Smoke podcast: “When I first get to the Lakers, Shaq tells me, if you and Kobe get into it, it’s 10 G’s in the locker,” Rider said. “This is three days into practice. I’m like, ‘Man, come on, you playing, man.’
“‘There’s 10 G’s in one-dollar bills if you ever get into it and you handle your business, grab that’ I couldn’t believe it, I’m like, ‘Man, these boys are crazy, bro.’ But this is my thing, I would’ve been off that team so fast if I laid a hand on that man.”
Isaiah Rider said Shaq offered him $10,000 (in 1 dollar bills) to "get into it" with Kobe in practice.
Full #AllTheSmoke Episode: https://t.co/h9k1PdQPLA pic.twitter.com/IdjIMZkJ6s
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This story encapsulates who Shaquille O’Neal was as a person, someone willing to mess with his teammates all the time. And he did it to Kobe Bryant quite a bit too. The two didn’t like one another toward the end of their time together in Los Angeles, and while he offered others money to fight Kobe, Shaq got into it with the Mamba himself as well.
Kobe Bryant And Shaquille O’Neal Recounted Their First Physical Fight
The two Lakers superstars settled their beef with one another in a sit-down interview in 2018. It was good that they got it out of the way before Kobe’s untimely passing, and during that conversation, they brought up their first physical fight.
Kobe Bryant said, “We were playing a pickup game. It was lockout season, South West College, we were playing a pickup game. We’re on opposite teams, and trash-talking.” Shaquille O’Neal agreed, adding, “Yes.”
Kobe Bryant then went on to elaborate: “And you kept saying, ‘Yeah, take that lil b*tch, take that, lil b*tch.’ I’m looking around like, ‘f**ker’s talking to me!’ And I said, ‘Hold on, there ain’t gonna be too many more of those.’
“To which you said, ‘What you gonna do about it? What you gonna do about it?’ Next thing I knew, I saw a big hand coming this way, and I remember going this way. And I remember throwing some lollipop sh*t Olden Polynice came and caught and then they all just kinda broke us apart, broke us up.”
The relationship between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant wasn’t always easy to understand. But that’s what made them one of the NBA’s greatest-ever duos. They got over their differences and led their team to unbelievable success, which is the only measure of greatness in the NBA.
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