Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal recently reminisced about his playing days with Kobe Bryant.

Two big egos, three championships, and endless memories are the vestiges of a rocky relationship between the best one-two punch of the post-90s era.

Shaq was candid in an interview with TNT's Ernie Johnson when asked if everything was cool after he left the Los Angeles Lakers for the Miami Heat:

“Yes and no,” O'Neal said. “I didn't want to leave, but being a veteran in the business of basketball, I realized that … there can't be two kings. And every great movie that I've seen – mafia movies, just to put it in better terms – the younger boss always takes out the older boss.”

O'Neal was spot-on with the “two kings” analogy. The Lakers had two megastars of the game, each scoring at a 20-point-plus clip every night, each wanting the ball more often, but somehow working through all the chaos.

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The headlines, the tabloids, the awkward press conference questions about each other — it was all worth it as long as they won.

So when they lost four games straight in the 2004 NBA Finals to a severe underdog in the Detroit Pistons, it all fell apart.

Despite sporting a lineup with sure-fire Hall of Famers like Gary Payton and Karl Malone, the rift between the two stars was too big for them to coexist.

Shortly after his departure, O'Neal won a title with the Heat in 2006 and Bryant won back-to-back titles with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

O'Neal will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, presented by Julius Erving, Alonzo Mourning, Bill Russell, and Isiah Thomas.