The Shaq–Kobe feud was the conflict between National Basketball Association (NBA) players Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996–2004.
O'Neal and Bryant won three consecutive NBA championships (2000, 2001, 2002), and appeared in the 2004 NBA Finals. O'Neal was the NBA Finals MVP in each of their victories. After years of arguments over their roles on the Lakers, a trade sent O'Neal to the Miami Heat while Bryant was re-signed as a free agent. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson wrote a 2004 book, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, reflecting on Bryant and O'Neal's troubles during their last season together.
Origins: 1996–1999 1996–1997
In 1996, the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) acquired the draft rights to high school player Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets by trading established center Vlade Divac. No NBA team had previously drafted a guard straight from high school. After freeing up salary by parting with other veteran players, they signed free agent All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal later that year. The two sparred in their first three seasons playing together from 1996–1999. Bryant kept his teammates at a distance, answering non-basketball questions with one- or two-word responses. O'Neal told the Lakers when Bryant arrived, "I'm not gonna be babysitting."Lazenby 2006, p.323 Bryant had extreme confidence in his ability, which was unusual for an 18-year-old, but some teammates interpreted his confidence as arrogance.Lazenby 2006, p.324 O'Neal was wary of Bryant, as a rookie, boasting that he would lead the Lakers in scoring and be the best player in the NBA. Lakers general manager Jerry West criticized O'Neal's leadership for hazing Bryant that season.O'Neal, MacMullan 2011, p.131 While O'Neal's personality was good-humored, Bryant's demeanor was all-business and was interpreted by some teammates as selfishness.Lazenby 2006, p.325 O'Neal began calling Bryant showboat because of his flashy offensive moves.Lazenby 2006, p.328
In an overtime playoff loss to the Utah Jazz that eliminated the Lakers, O'Neal fouled out with two minutes remaining in regulation. Lakers coach Del Harris designed the Laker offense around the rookie Bryant, who went on to shoot four air balls. Harris explained that Bryant's one-on-one skills made him the best choice.Lazenby 2006, p.332 After the game, O'Neal put his arm around Bryant and told him there would be other opportunities.Lazenby 2006, pp.336–7 West said the team's shortcoming made O'Neal angry since he was going to be judged by the team's success.Lazenby 2006, p.335
1997–1998 In 1997, Bryant was assigned by the Lakers to play in the NBA Summer League to improve as a team player and learn where to send the ball when he drew double teams.Lazenby 2006, p.337 The following season, he was voted as a starter in the 1998 All-Star Game though he was a reserve on the Lakers. The team struggled after the All-Star break, losing seven of their first twelve games, and Bryant had a stretch where he made only 30 of 100 shots. O'Neal wanted a championship immediately, and he did not want to wait for Bryant to mature as a player. Harris thought the NBA and its television broadcaster, NBC, were overexposing Bryant and that he became more of a one-on-one player after the break.Lazenby 2006, pp.339–342 Bryant's playing time became reduced. The Lakers were eliminated in the 1998 playoffs in the conference finals after they were swept by the Jazz, 4–0.Lazenby 2006, pp.345–7
1998–1999 In 1998, the team's lockout-shortened 50-game season included the firing of Harris, the interim head coaching stint of Kurt Rambis, and a brief period with Dennis Rodman as a player. During the lockout, O'Neal, Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Corie Blount played a two-on-two basketball game. Bryant was always a physical player during practice, but other players, however, disliked his approach. Fisher said, "That was really the way we all should have been playing. With Kobe's spirit." During the game, O'Neal slapped Bryant. Fisher said neither O'Neal nor Bryant really started it, as they were both being physical.Lazenby 2006, p.349
During the season, the Lakers blamed their problems on what they felt was Bryant's selfish play. At one point, O'Neal pointed at Bryant and told reporters in the locker room, "There's the problem."Lazenby 2006, pp.350–1 Bryant's jerseys were outselling O'Neal's in Southern California sporting goods stores, and rumors started that O'Neal was jealous, as he was with Penny Hardaway when they played together for the Orlando Magic. "That's far from the truth", said Fisher. "All Shaq wants to do is win."Lazenby 2006, p.351 Asked if he helped Bryant through his growing pains, O'Neal said, "I try not to help guys out too much. Experience is the best teacher ... Kobe's a great player ... He's a new, up-and-coming kid."
O'Neal thought Rambis favored Bryant.O'Neal, MacMullan 2011, p.132 Rambis asked O'Neal, the veteran team leader, to heal the rift and talk to Bryant, to which O'Neal reportedly gave him a "blank, cold stare."Lazenby 2006, p.361 The rift between O'Neal and Bryant continued into that year's NBA Playoffs. While the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, they were swept 4–0 by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round.
Three-peat: 2000–2002 1999–2000
During the 1999 offseason, West and Lakers owner Jerry Buss agreed to sign the then six-time NBA champion Phil Jackson to a five-year, $30 million contract to be the team's new head coach entering the 1999–2000 season.Lazenby 2006, pp.363–6 Buss was previously a believer in spending conservatively on coaches, but O'Neal and Bryant both encouraged West to hire Jackson.Lazenby 2006, p.366 Jackson decided to revolve the offense around O'Neal, who became responsible for distributing the ball.Lazenby 2006, p.378 He also wanted better leadership, physical conditioning, and defense from O'Neal.Lazenby 2006, p.380
Jackson chose to develop a close relationship with O'Neal and not Bryant, calculating that O'Neal's personality craved such a relationship.Lazenby 2006, p.379 Bryant missed the season's first fifteen games due to a broken right wrist, allowing the Lakers to focus on O'Neal as Jackson had planned.Lazenby 2006, pp.378, 380 The results of Jackson's hiring were promising, as the team amassed a 67–15 record (one of the best records in league history). O'Neal led the league in scoring, averaging 29.7 points per game, and he won his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award. During the playoffs, the Lakers fought off the eighth-seeded Sacramento Kings in five games, and then defeated the Phoenix Suns in the second round, four games to one.
It was in the 2000 Western Conference Finals that a defining moment of O'Neal and Bryant's on-court success together occurred. The Lakers were leading the Portland Trail Blazers three games to one, before dropping Game 5 at home and Game 6 in Portland. The Blazers were leading the decisive Game 7 by fifteen points early in the fourth quarter, putting the Lakers on the brink of elimination, before the Lakers mounted a 25–4 rally to take the lead. The comeback run culminated as Bryant drove the lane and threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal for a one-handed slam dunk after which O'Neal ran upcourt with his mouth agape and both index fingers waving. Bryant extended his hand to O'Neal for a high five, but O'Neal in his celebration did not notice. The Lakers won the game 89–84, and the 13 point comeback after three quarters was the most in a Game 7 in the NBA playoffs. O'Neal had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Bryant had 25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocked shots. The two players complimented each other on the alley-oop play after the game, and assistant coach Tex Winter thought they came to respect each other.Lazenby 2006, p.387–8
The Lakers went on to defeat the Indiana Pacers in six games and won their first NBA championship since 1988. The Lakers led the series 2–0 behind O'Neal's dominating presence. The Lakers lost Game 3, which Bryant missed with an ankle injury. After O'Neal fouled out in overtime of Game 4, Jackson spread the floor and had Bryant take over the offense and lead the team to victory. Leading 110–109 with 1:32 remaining in Game 6, Jackson again spread the offense—even with O'Neal on the floor—and again allowed Bryant to take over; the Lakers won the game, 116–111, and the championship.Lazenby 2006, p.389–91 In the ensuing celebration, Bryant was the first person to embrace O'Neal.O'Neal, MacMullan 2011, p.135
The season was not without confrontation, as O'Neal in one team meeting said, "I have something to say. I think Kobe is playing too selfishly for us to win." O'Neal felt pressure to be leader of the team and was upset with Bryant's shot selection. Teammate Ron Harper helped mediate the differences between O'Neal and Bryant.O'Neal, MacMullan 2011, p.140 According to Jackson, "Kobe didn't have a selfish agenda; he just felt that the way he had been playing was the best way he could contribute. Gradually, he's seen there is a different way to contribute that incorporates more of the team." Upon arriving at the Lakers that season, Winter said he was stunned to discover the level of hatred O'Neal expressed toward Bryant. "There was a lot of hatred in [O'Neal's] heart ... Kobe just took it and kept going." O'Neal regularly expressed to management that he did not believe the team could win a championship with Bryant. Winter observed that O'Neal influenced the entire team against Bryant.Lazenby 2006, pp.378–9 Winter thought that Bryant made it a point to get the ball to O'Neal that year, but O'Neal did not appreciate what Bryant was doing to help him. During that season's All-Star Game, Bryant did not participate in the Slam Dunk Contest and a matchup against Vince Carter, following Jackson's request to pass on individual accomplishments to keep the focus on the team. During All-Star warm-ups, O'Neal mimicked Bryant's crossover dribble but threw the ball into the stands to accentuate Bryant's turnovers.Lazenby 2006, p.383 O'Neal said it was an inside joke between Kobe and him.O'Neal, MacMullan 2011, p.146 Jackson and Winter relied on the triangle offense to heal the relationship between O'Neal and Bryant. The coaches believed that the offense was so structured to smooth over the relationship between the two players on the court. The coaches also told the team they did not see the selfishness in Bryant that the players saw. Winter even put together a video for O'Neal to show that Bryant was playing his role correctly.Lazenby 2006, pp.379–80
2000–2001