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.
Shaquille O’ Neal opens up on the matter
The third episode of the recent HBO documentary on the Big Aristotle, Shaq, revealed what actually happened behind the scenes. Amidst the lengthy contract situation with Shaq, the Lakers no. 34 also felt that he wasn’t respected as much as his counterparts. Something that he got proof of later, just after losing to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.
“We lost to Detroit the last game. We had like a team dinner, and the owner wasn’t talking to me,” said Shaq, recalling the time in the documentary. He further added, “He was talking to the other side [Kobe Bryant]. He didn’t say anything to me. I looked at my wife Shaunie, and I looked at Uncle Jerome, and I was like, ‘Uh-Oh’.“
