Kobe Bryant made an interesting remark about Shaquille O'Neal during an interview with Patrick Bet-David at the 10th annual PHP Agency Convention in Las Vegas last month. During his appearance, Bryant claimed that the Lakers would have won 12 championships had Shaq worked harder in the gym. Shaq heard this comment and decided to reply, saying Kobe would have more rings if would have passed the ball more. Their back-and-forth banter caused a stir on social media, but it sounds like there is no beef to be had here.
Kobe was on Tuesday's edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and during his appearance, The Black Mamba noted that his comments about Shaq were taken out of context:
“Here's the thing, it was really a compliment,” Kobe said. “People missed the whole first half of that in which I said he was the most dominant player I've ever seen and I felt like he could've been the greatest of all time.
“So, people kind of missed that part of it — they caught onto the lazy part,” the Lakers icon added. “But, that was like, I kinda said that tongue-in-cheek! We weren't going to win 12 rings!”
Kobe said he actually had to text the Big Diesel after the comments went viral, saying, “No hard feelings, I still got love for you!”
Shaq and Kobe left a lasting legacy with the Lakers. As teammates, they led the franchise to three consecutive championships. Some hoops experts believe they needed one another to win, while others would disagree. Kobe won two rings without Shaq, while Shaq won just one without Kobe.
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