Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are viewed as two of the greatest players to have ever worn a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. Though they had their differences, Shaq says he regrets not sharing the extent of his feelings with Bryant before his death.
Shaq spoke with Mark Medina of USA TODAY Sports about his Kobe regrets:
“I don’t want to see anybody go out like that and never to be able to talk to him again,” O’Neal told USA TODAY Sports about Bryant, who would have turned 42 on Sunday. “The thing that hurt me was all the stuff that I wanted to say, I hadn’t said it. I never said it.”
Sadly, Bryant, as well as his daughter, Gianna, passed away in a helicopter crash just outside Los Angeles back in January. All nine passengers on the flight perished in the tragic accident. The group was on its way to the Mamba Sports Academy, where Kobe was to serve as a coach for Gigi's basketball team.
There were a number of reasons for the feud that existed between Shaq and Kobe. O'Neal would complain about Bryant's high number of shots, while Bryant was allegedly upset with O'Neal's work ethic. Despite their differences, Shaq and Kobe went on to win three of the four NBA Finals matchups they appeared in. To many in Lakers Nation, it was one of the greatest teams in franchise history.
They may not have gotten along all of the time, but Shaq and Kobe still shared a mutual respect for one another. In some ways, it actually drove them to play harder. Ultimately, The Big Diesel says they needed one another to succeed:
“There’s a myth that you have to be best friends to win championships. We only have to have one thing, and that’s respect,” O’Neal said, via USA TODAY Sports. “If he goes to the hole with four people coming, he’s dropping it off to me. When I get double or triple teamed, I look for him first. He knows I need him. I’m damn sure he knows he needs me. I was just hurt I would never be able to tell him anything ever again.”
It's worth noting that O'Neal and Bryant seemed to reconcile their differences in the recent past. The two Lakers legends went on to make several appearances together in their post-NBA lives. In 2017, Kobe attended and spoke at Shaq's statue unveiling outside the Staples Center. A few months later, O’Neal interviewed Bryant for a “Players Only” segment on TNT:
“You never know what stuff is going to happen. So you shouldn’t let stuff linger,” O’Neal said. “Were we best friends? No. Did we respect the hell out of each other? 1,000%. Do I wish we could’ve talked every day and hung out every day. Yes.”
Shaq's message is a good one. Tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone, which is why we should tell the ones we love exactly how we feel.
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