During the 1998-99 lockout year, NBA players would play pickup games to stay in shape and work on their games so they would be ready to go once the season started. Former ESPN and Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman has a great story about one of these runs, which featured Los Angeles Lakers legends Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal playing on opposite teams.
Pearlman was recently a guest on the Dunks and Discourse podcast, and he told a story about Bryant and O'Neal talking trash to each other. Kobe kept calling Shaq a “b****” for calling fouls, and then O'Neal told Bryant he could get him “traded to Vancouver.”
O'Neal also slapped Bryant and things got testy before other players jumped in and broke up the fight.
Listen to the story here:
Shaq and Kobe getting into it at a pickup run in ‘99.
Shaq calls foul*
Kobe: “Will you stop being a b****.”
Shaq: “I know you are not talking to me, you know I can get you traded to Vancouver in a second.”https://t.co/ekTNNVQsCw pic.twitter.com/Q8a2LHEcJW
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) September 17, 2020
As everyone knows, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal had a tenuous relationship with the Lakers. Things didn't exactly end well for them together in Los Angeles. However, they were still able to win three titles in a row and establish themselves as one of the greatest duos in NBA history.
Bryant and O'Neal defeated the Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers for their three championships with the Lakers, with Shaq winning all three Finals MVPs.
After the Lakers traded O'Neal to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004 and the Diesel won his fourth ring in 2006 with Dwyane Wade, Bryant became even more motivated to win a championship without O'Neal.
Bryant wound up winning back-to-back titles with Pau Gasol in 2009 and 2010, giving him one more ring than O'Neal.
It still doesn't seem real to this day that Bryant is no longer with us. However, stories like this will certainly keep his legacy and spirit alive. He truly was the ultimate competitor.
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