Shaquille O'Neal - Kobe Bryant relationship did not work out the way the franchise and Los Angeles Lakers fans envisioned it.
The two separated in 2004 after allegedly having feud inside the locker room. Shaq moved to Miami Heat and won one championship, giving him a total of four. This somehow made critics think Lakers was the one who lost in that bad development.
Los Angeles Lakers rebuilt after fall of Shaquille O'Neal - Kobe Bryant relationship but it did not come easy. While Shaq is winning over at Florida, Lakers missed the playoffs in 2005.
Kobe Bryant stayed with the Purple and Gold and in four years time, he won his fourth and then his fifth in a year after.
The two former teammates were not competing who will get more rings. However, when Kobe won his fifth, Shaq admitted that he hated it.
"I was pissed," he said during his highly anticipated podcast with Kobe Bryant as the guest.
"I got four first, so I threw a little jab. He had a couple years. Then, they somehow got Paul Gasol and [Andrew] Bynum and they got four. I was like, 'OK, we're tied. I'm cool for awhile.' Then he gets number five and a reporter says, 'You feel good that you got one more than Shaq?' Kobe's like, 'Yeah, I got one more than Shaq.' I'm like, 'Aw, shit! They got me.'"
Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, did not feel any envy when Shaq won his fourth in Miami. He admitted though that it motivated him to add more rings on his fingers.
"I knew it was going to push me more," he said.
"I always wanted to get where Magic was, to where Michael was, so four wasn't something that was on my radar. It pushed me even more. It drove me even more. So when I got five [rings], I couldn't help but turn the knife a little bit."
Shaq also cleared things about what people misinterpreted about his strained relationship with Kobe Bryant. He insists he does not hate the Black Mamba. Their arguments during their successful run were just like work misunderstanding.
"I just want people to know that I don't hate you, I know you don't hate me," Shaq said straight to his visitor.
"I call it today a 'work beef,' is what we had. I was young, you was young. But then as I look at it, we won three [championships] out of four so I don't really think a lot was done wrong. So I just wanted to clear the air and let everybody know that, no, I don't hate you. We had a lot of disagreements, we had a lot of arguments. But I think it fueled us both."
Kobe seconded it by saying they were just kids back then.
"In '99, I think Shaq realized that this kid is really competitive and he's a little crazy," said Bryant.
"And I realized that I probably had a couple of screws loose because I nearly got into a fistfight and I actually was willing to get into a fight with this man. I went home and I was like, 'Dude, I've either got to be the dumbest or the most courageous kid on the face of the Earth.'"
