How Kobe Bryant Rivalry Pushed Shaq to ‘Top Level’

When it comes to NBA duos, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal they are cemented into league history. They led Los Angeles Lakers to three consecutive championships (2000-2002) despite any conflicts or personal troubles that came their way. But what sets O’Neal and Bryant apart from other duos in the NBA, and their mastery of canceling out the noise to produce a three-point run? True grit.

“For us, it’s all about winning and performing at the highest level and just bringing the trophy home,” O’Neal told ClutchPoints exclusively after his Shak-A-Claus event this week. “Growing up, I brought home a lot of trophies. I was programmed to bring home trophies. So every time we didn’t bring home a trophy, it just dropped us more.”

Despite the conflict the two endured based on power struggles, managing different approaches to work, and even a physical confrontation in 1998, nothing could stop them from striking gold. Although they didn’t agree on everything, they were able to grapple with their conflicting values.

“But here’s the thing: What made our disagreements special was that we said them to each other’s faces. We didn’t go behind each other’s backs and whisper to our teammates about this, that and the other,” Kobe said, in the 2015 performance on the Big Podcast with Shaka.

“And then when you come out of that, the team is even better for it because now you have more momentum, and I think that catapulted us, especially for that second championship,” Bryant said.

As for Shaq, who later left Kobe and the Lakers for the Miami Heat in 2004, he had an alternative view of events from a strategic standpoint and, ultimately, knew they would always have each other’s backs.

“It’s not a fight,” O’Neal explained on The Big Podcast. “It just seemed like a fight because I’m going to make it real. When I get double (teamed), he’s the first guy I look for. When he doubles (team), I’m the first guy he looks for. Forget all that. I hate outsiders who say, ‘You gotta be this, you gotta be that.’ No, you don’t, no, you don’t. You don’t need all that.”

Shaq on the memory of Kobe Bryant

2020 Kobe, along with his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, and seven others killed in a helicopter crash. The tragedy shocked the sports world, from casual NBA watchers to die-hard Lakers fans and those who played alongside Kobe through it all. Shaq briefly touched on their “feud” in his speech at Kobe’s memorial at Staples Center in 2020, comparing them to the duo of music legends John Lennon and Paul McCartney for creating “some of the greatest music of all time.”

“Kobe and I pushed each other to play some of the best basketball of all time, and I’m proud that no other team has accomplished what the three-peat Lakers have done since Shaq and the Kobe Lakers did it,” Shaq said. “And sometimes, like immature kids, we’d fight, argue, joke around, attack each other with off-the-cuff remarks (in) our fight. Make no mistake, even when people thought we were on bad terms, when the cameras were off, he and I would wink at each other and say, ‘Come on, come on cameras.’

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They shared legendary moments on the court, such as Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals when Kobe threw down Shaq to secure a comeback win against the Portland Trail Blazers, or when they shared the MVP award at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, both of them moved to tears.

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Through the turmoil, greatness, will and brotherhood rose, where nothing could stop them from building a Lakers dynasty.