During the early 2000s, the Los Angeles Lakers won three-straight championships under then-head coach, Phil Jackson. Despite all the success the franchise achieved during that time, a much-publicized feud between their two superstars, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, emerged.
On his recent appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaq, the 71-year-old now New York Knicks president gave his take on what he thinks helped Shaq and Kobe co-exist:
“By having an offense that was focused on really putting the ball in the middle of the center and having that triangle system in place, that gave the whole emphasis to the team to put the ball inside and we can dominate at this particular position. As the game goes on, whether it’s situations presenting itself or Shaq is out of the game, Kobe had an opportunity to do things that are important to his game and find a way to contribute.”
The offensive system certainly worked in O'Neal's favor as he continued to be its focal point. However, as the Black Mamba's stock was rising, he also felt that the roles should be reversed so he could be the go-to-guy.
“He was concerned about averaging points and where my points were going to come from,” Jackson added. “But he found a way to do that inside of what we were trying to do as a team. There was a little struggle in there at times with that. But the two of them when the game was on the line, they were tremendous together.”
The 7-foot center neither agreed or disagreed with his former coach's comments but instead acknowledged everything that he has learned from him and credited Jackson for helping him win another title after their time in Los Angeles.
“Phil is my guy,” Shaq said. “Everybody knows how I feel about Phil. He’s the guy that took me to that next level. Then I got traded away and still was able to win one more because of the philosophy that I learned from Phil.”
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