"Shaq fired back that he and Kobe never hung out together" - NBA insider reveals major reason why Shaquille O’Neal's relationship with Kobe Bryant fell out
The late Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had quite a relationship, winning a three-peat together with the LA Lakers, and then having a fall-out which led to their eventual separation. Despite the friction between the two stars, they patched-up a few years later and even spoke about the possibility of more championships if they stuck together longer.
The feud between Bryant and O’Neal was brought up recently on The Ringer and Spotify’s podcast – Icons Club. Host Jackie MacMullan spoke about and interviewed a few NBA superstars and how they impacted the league, while throwing light on an incident that took place around Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case.
Shaq and Kobe were arguably the best one-two punch ever—two of the NBA’s most compelling players and the ultimate contrast in styles.
This is #IconsClub with Jackie MacMullan: open.spotify.com/episode/2lWmaE…
Jackie MacMullan highlighted what happened between Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal after the civil suit was settled:
“The criminal charges were ultimately dropped and the civil suit settled, the scrutiny was unabated. Kobe also infuriated Shaq by intimating in interviews with Eagle Colorado detectives that O'Neal paid off woman quote, not to say anything about his encounters with them.”
Kobe Bryant’s exact comments according to his police files, were:
“I should have done what Shaq does. Shaq gives [mistresses] money or buys them cars, he has already spent one million dollars.”
O’Neal was obviously enraged by Bryant’s unnecessary shots at him and his response, as stated by MacMullan was:
“And Shaq fired back that he had Kobe never hung out together. So, Kobe couldn't know anything about his personal life. ‘He's the one buying love,’ Shaq said. And the fallout from the case lingered. Kobe lost major endorsements and face seemingly ceaseless public denunciation.”
Kobe Bryant’s comments led to the feud between the two to worsen. But the duo played out the following season together and Shaquille O’Neal got traded to the Miami Heat after that. He went on to win his fourth championship in the 2006 NBA Finals, while it took Kobe Bryant a little longer to win his first title without O’Neal.
The duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in their prime were unstoppable
The Shaq-Bryant duo played eight seasons together, winning three championships in consecutive years. O’Neal dominating inside the paint, with Bryant creating buckets at will – made them a combination that opponents dreaded.
Their scoring averages were almost similar throughout the regular seasons, but O’Neal always managed to find another gear in the playoffs. In all their championship seasons, Shaq dominated the post-season proceedings, winning three back-to-back Finals MVPs.
#TBT#OTD in 2009, former teammates @SHAQ and @kobebryant reunited in the 2009 #NBAAllStar Game and were named co-MVPs. 🏆 #TBT https://t.co/5rJSpUglyx
The three years they shared the court, they were the best duo in the league and that will probably stand even till today. The way Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal complemented each other’s playing style was arguably better than even Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
That is probably one of the reasons why they remained thick friends, despite their feud to be the face of the LA Lakers organization.