Shaquille O’ Neal and the late NBA star Kobe Bryant shared an infamous beef. . However, Shaq and Kobe famously reconciled their dispute later on in their lives. They both donned the Los Angeles Lakers jersey together for eight years. It was a partnership that resulted in three titles out of four trips to the NBA Finals. Shaq eventually decided to part ways with Lakers.
In his recent documentary, the former Lakers squad and Shaq explained in great detail how the whole scenario panned out. Shaq specifically mentioned how ignorance from the Lakers owner at the time following a defeat in the NBA finals, cleared things up for him. The Los Angeles Lakers were on the top of the NBA at the time, and many predicted that they were there to stay.
In the interview with Jim Gary, Kobe attacked Shaq on all levels. He called him lazy, fat and questioned his commitment to the game. He said:
“A guy selling Donuts at the 7-Eleven had more pride in his job than Shaq did”.
Despite the interview not being released, Shaq found out and threatened to kill his teammate. John Salley, a former Laker star, witnessed this debacle upfront and recently spoke about the same.
The beef between Shaquille O’ Neal and Kobe Bryant revealed
In an interview with VladTV, John Salley opened up about how Kobe’s comment affected Big Diesel. He pointed out that after these comments were made, at the end of the season, Shaq joined the Miami Heat.
Salley stated that the four-time NBA champion needed a force to bring out the best in Shaq and this force was Kobe’s comments. While referring to Mamba’s interview, Salley stated that Shaq wasn’t lazy rather he said:
“Shaq had an affinity of gaining weight”.
This weight gain affected his gameplay. The narrative of Shaq being lazy and fat triggered a reaction in the 15-time All-Star. As Salley said, Shaq reached Miami and soon became the fittest he had ever been. Sally added:
“That’s to prove I’m (Shaq) not fat I’m not lazy. Look at what but it took that (Kobe’s comments) and it took Pat Riley”.
