Topics: NBA, Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, Basketball
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant didn't always get along when they played together for the Los Angeles Lakers, but the charismatic big man was able to see the funny side when his younger colleague once explained why he refused to pass the ball.
O'Neal joined the Lakers from the Orlando Magic in 1996 in what was one of the biggest free-agency moves in US sports history at the time.
The same year, the Lakers selected a teenage Bryant with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft.
The pair played together in LA until "Big Diesel" left to join the Miami Heat in 2004. They won three consecutive NBA championships between 2001 and 2003 as an iconic little man-big man tandem.
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On the court, their skills melded perfectly, with O'Neal the most dominant centre of his generation and Bryant an ultra-athletic high-flyer and lethal mid-range scorer.
But despite their shared success, Shaq and Kobe didn't always see eye to eye, famously once even coming to blows after one argument.
They made up in later years and became close friends before Bryant's untimely death in a helicopter accident at the age of 41 in 2020.
And speaking at a memorial service for Bryant, O'Neal shared a funny story about a time he confronted the young superstar guard about his reluctance to pass to teammates.
Recalling the anecdote, O'Neal remembered saying to Bryant: "Kobe, there ain't no 'I' in team."
"I know," came Bryant's reply. "But there is a 'M-E' in that m***********."
After O'Neal departed the Lakers, he went on to win a fourth career title with the Heat in 2006.
Bryant remained a Laker for the entirety of his 20-year career, and he eventually eclipsed O'Neal's haul of championships by leading the Purple and Gold to back-to-back triumphs in 2009 and 2010.
"Kobe was so much more than an athlete, he was a family man," O'Neal said on Twitter, now X, following Bryant's tragic death. "That was what we had most in common. I would hug his children like they were my own and he would embrace my kids like they were his."
