The media portrayed the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal feud as a war between two basketball titans who hated each other’s guts. They made it appear that at any point when they faced each other, they would fight and rip each other’s hearts out if they got a chance.
Such narratives were embedded in fans’ minds, much to Kobe and Shaq’s chagrin. Over the years, they’ve tried to correct the perception around their relationship.
While they didn’t deny they had their tough times, the two basketball stars clarified that their fights were comparable to two brothers quarreling. At the end of each confrontation, they still loved one another.
Embracing leadership
One of the great moments that made Bryant respect Shaq came, ironically, in a bad game against the Dallas Mavericks. In an appearance on “The Big Podcast” with Shaq in 2015, Bryant recalled how the two missed several critical free throws in crunch time. Diesel recalled that he probably botched 13 free throws.
What impressed Kobe was that O’Neal owned up to his mistakes. He understood that as the basketball club’s leader and face, he was in charge of setting the tone and performing at an elite level night in and night out. He failed this assignment that fateful night in Dallas.
“Most players would hide from that,” Kobe said. “They would look to blame somebody else or say, ‘No, that’s not what caused us the loss.’ What Shaq did was crazy. He came in the locker room and tore the locker room to pieces, because he was pissed at himself, and he accepted the fact that that lost us a ballgame.”
“He didn’t hide from it, and he used that to fuel him to become better and lead us to winning championships. That’s something that sat with me, because I said, ‘OK, he really, really cares about this team. He’s not just going to sit back and brush it under the rug,'” Kobe said.
Could’ve won more
The two legends agreed they could’ve won more titles if they had stayed together in Los Angeles. However, Kobe believed their partnership was bound to end eventually.
To illustrate his point, he compared it to a hypothetical pairing of Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan — sooner or later, MJ would’ve wanted to step out of Wilt’s shadow and prove he could win on his own. That’s how Kobe saw his own story with Shaq.
Meanwhile, O’Neal had a different view. He wanted to stay in Los Angeles, feeling he still had a lot left in the tank. However, with the future in mind, the Lakers’ front office thought it was better to move in a different direction.
“But the business aspect kicked in,” Shaq said. “And I was getting older, so management was like, ‘Hey, you’re getting older. We know you want this, but we wantÂ
O’Neal understood the business and accepted the Lakers’ request to ship him out to South Beach. It turned out to be the right decision as Shaq won his fourth chip in Miami.
Meanwhile, Kobe thrived on his own and powered the Lakers to two titles post-Shaq. Kobe and Shaq were thrilled to see each other succeed like real brothers. It even prompted them to spend more hours in the gym, all in the spirit of competition.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.