In the early 2000s, the NBA was firmly in the era of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. They were the league’s best duo by far, but they had quite a prolific falling out. It was a feud that led to O’Neal’s exit from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA has seen plenty of successful duos in the past. Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Across every decade, there could be a duo or a trio that dominates the league.
For the early 2000s, this was undisputedly Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. They were the superstar duo on the Los Angeles Lakers, serving as the most powerful one-two punch ever. As a duo, they won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.
They even reached the NBA Finals for the fourth time in 2004. Unfortunately for the duo and the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons pulled off a magical upset. However, an underlying reason behind that loss was the feud between O’Neal and Bryant.
Throughout their time together from 1996 to 2004 with the Lakers, O’Neal was the veteran to the young Bryant. They were the most gifted players on the Lakers, but it took a while to get going.
They finally reached their potential during the 1999-2000 season when they made the postseason and won their first title together. Phil Jackson’s appointment as the Lakers’ head coach was the catalyst for their success.
That kept happening in the following two seasons, winning two more championships. They were successful, but there were always some disagreements between the two superstars. Bryant and O’Neal had fundamental differences regarding hard work behind the scenes.
Away from the games, Bryant had an obsession with getting better. That made him the Lakers’ biggest workaholic, while O’Neal never truly worked on his game during the offseason. Bryant felt that was bizarre, and O’Neal felt the same about him. Bryant was the stubborn brat of the duo, which led to people disliking him.
“Well, he was charming. The perception of him was exactly that… The city of L.A. knows me now, and they know who I am. But at the time, the perception was that Kobe was trying to break up the team.” Bryant said to GQ about his relationship with O’Neal.
“That was wrong. I am a maniacal worker, and if you’re not working as hard as I am, I am going to let you know about it.”
“That’s why Shaq and I still have a good relationship: He knows I have zero fear of him.”
In a tragic turn of events, Bryant passed away in early 2020. O’Neal was one of the most prominent people who discussed Bryant’s life in the days after the tragedy. The big man, who is often smiling and laughing, shed tears during that time.
O’Neal appreciated Bryant as a little brother even though they had regular feuds. Thankfully, they hashed it out before they had no chance to do so. Since 2020, O’Neal has consistently found ways to show love to his former superstar running mate.
Nowadays, people look back on the early 2000s and see the pinnacle of Lakers basketball. It was one of the best times in franchise history because of O’Neal and Bryant. Yes, the big man won Finals MVP three times, but Bryant was always there to support and even exceed him.
People are fond of their partnership now, but they do acknowledge the feud. Thankfully, O’Neal has never missed out on praising Bryant after he retired. It might have been too late for their partnership, but it was all love after their playing days.
