When Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal played together for eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, they shared a lot of good memories, including the three championships they won from 2000-2002. However, during the 7-foot-1 big man's statue unveiling outside Staples Center on Friday, The Black Mamba shared one of their conversations before that not a lot of people know.

Bryant recalled the time when the former LSU Tiger told him about the additional motivation to beat David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs in a playoff series, and shared it with the crowd on hand.

Although it remains a mystery why O'Neal said The Admiral wasn't nice to him, he was still able to beat Robinson and company, eliminating them twice in the postseason. Many believed it was also the passing of the torch from one dominant center to another, as the Spurs great was already nearing the twilight of his career that time.

O'Neal was never shy to admit during his early days in the NBA that he idolized Robinson and wanted to pattern his game after him. It may have turned out that their styles were different, but he still served as an inspiration to The Diesel as he acknowledges him as one of the top five centers who ever played in the league.