Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 at 10:30 am  |  49 responses

Kobe on Shaq: ‘No Way We Would Have Lasted 15 Years’


It’s been nearly a decade since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were teammates, but the story of their dominant run together (and acrimonious breakup) continues to garner headlines. Kobe says that their relationship was doomed from the start. From ESPN: “Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and former teammate Shaquille O’Neal won three consecutive championships during their eight seasons together, despite regularly feuding in public fashion. To some, it was regrettable that personality clashes may have prevented an even longer run as a dominant 1-2 punch. But as far as Bryant is concerned, that was never in the cards from Day 1. ‘There’s no way we would have lasted (15 years). Absolutely not,’ Bryant said. Bryant also recalled the moment when he truly realized the two could co-exist for only so long. ‘There was an interview that I heard Shaq do which he kind of threw down the challenge of me not being able to win without him,’ recalled Bryant. ‘After I read that, I said, ‘Aw, that’s it.’ Some comparison that he made with me and Penny Hardaway, and once I read that, I said, ‘You know what? I can’t finish my career with people saying that. There’s no way.’ O’Neal said Tuesday playing with Bryant made up ‘the best eight years of my life,’ contrary to their often fiery relationship as teammates. O’Neal described it as ‘marketing.’ ‘You know we pushed each other,’ O’Neal said. ‘A lot of people thought we really had problems, but the problems I created were just for everyone to look at us, to notice us.’ O’Neal said the media often took it further.”

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  • c.a. Posted: Feb.8 at 10:33 am
    Kobe couldn’t last 15 years with his wife, a person he CHOSE to be with, so he sure as hell ain’t gonna last with some dude he is forced to ball with!

  • slamfan4life Posted: Feb.8 at 10:33 am
    K k k kobe doin work

  • hulahula Posted: Feb.8 at 10:34 am
    still theyre my favorite duo….

  • LakerNation Posted: Feb.8 at 10:36 am
    2-4 on my shirt!

  • kobesBESTfriend Posted: Feb.8 at 10:36 am
    Shaq f’d up what should have been the most dominant dynasty ever!!!

  • Kobester Posted: Feb.8 at 10:39 am
    just another case of Shaq being immature and Kobe being petty….

  • Paul H Posted: Feb.8 at 10:57 am
    Like Kobe said, two alpha males on one team doesn’t work long term. Particularly when both are capable of the most outlandish immaturity and stubbornness.

  • Royal Posted: Feb.8 at 11:18 am
    8th

  • T-Money Posted: Feb.8 at 11:20 am
    wow, shaq is really starting to sound like a mark. history has been written, kobe shattered your records, won more chips than you and will not bounce from teams to teams scoring less than 10 points a game… and he also has no interest in faking a friendship. deal with it.

  • Allenp Posted: Feb.8 at 11:42 am
    Shaq is going all out on his quest to rewrite history and his legacy. Now it was all the media’s fault and shrewd marketing move. That dude lies like he breathes.

  • MeloMan15 Posted: Feb.8 at 11:51 am
    I love Shaq, but he needs to stop pretending that his beef with Kobe was for show. It was pretty obvious they didn’t like eachother

  • hagekg Posted: Feb.8 at 12:00 pm
    when Slamonline makes a poll about how the lakers will finish the 11-12 season not so long ago and the majority of ppl voted that they are gonna win a championship, it simply shows how many slam followers are majority with lakers side. this fact alone already makes me lazy enough to argue with kobetard fans, let alone seeing them argue who is more dominant between kobe or shaq when shaq is the one who left in the end. Or lazy enough to argue that their hero isnt as great as what they think of.

  • dfrance21 Posted: Feb.8 at 12:01 pm
    Yeah Shaq needs to STFU. If I hear his whole “I was driven by the task and sometimes the relationship suffers to get the task accomplished” garbage again I’m gonna puke. Kobe can be a douche, but at least he’s always been honest about where their relationship stood.

  • robb Posted: Feb.8 at 12:04 pm
    Paul McCartney and John Lennon clashed every 5 seconds, and they succeeded enormously. Sometimes those fights create a special energy that helps bands/teams become legendary.

  • Ldub Posted: Feb.8 at 12:04 pm
    Not a Laker fan to say the least, but I do recognize the awesome team of KB and Shaq. It would have been really great for the NBA if these 2 could have found a way to coexist. Since they werent able to, we are left with woulda, coulda and shoulda. 2 Hall of Famers, 2 all time greats, all-stars, mvps, multiple champions. ‘Nuff said.

  • HeavenCent Posted: Feb.8 at 12:10 pm
    hagekg >> maybe your wrong and you need to wake up

  • Red Star Posted: Feb.8 at 12:33 pm
    Kobe! You’re Welcome!!

  • Angie Posted: Feb.8 at 12:52 pm
    “Paul McCartney and John Lennon clashed every 5 seconds, and they succeeded enormously. Sometimes those fights create a special energy that helps bands/teams become legendary.” That’s actually a pretty good example. They had tremendous chemistry…and tremendous chemistry problems. When it worked, it was magic. When it didn’t, it was a disaster. But at the end of day, it fell apart, never to be put back together again.

  • Kinetik Posted: Feb.8 at 1:01 pm
    ^
    like humpty dumpty.

  • tealish Posted: Feb.8 at 1:07 pm
    I understand Kobe isn’t the easiest guy to like, but choosing between him and Shaq is pretty much a no brainer. Shaq annoys me more and more each time I hear his name.

  • GP23 Posted: Feb.8 at 1:19 pm
    Shaq once said Allen Iverson was in the Top 5 all-time.

  • Caboose Posted: Feb.8 at 1:22 pm
    But Paul hasn’t ever tried to rewrite history and say that he was using the feud’s as a marketing ploy while John really believed in them. Why is Shaq so insecure about how people view him? He really is just starving for positive attention, which explains why he signed with Cleveland (piggyback on LeBron’s positive popularity) and Boston (piggyback on the Celtic Pride popularity). Your moment in the sun is over Shaq. We know who you are. Don’t try lying to us. It ironically makes you the smaller person.

  • bike Posted: Feb.8 at 1:28 pm
    Phil Jackson’s ‘The Last Season’ was a pretty good read and he wasn’t shy about voicing his views on the whole Shaq/Kobe feud. A lot of it boiled down to Kobe was arrogant and wouldn’t listen to anyone whereas Shaq was immature but likeable. Jackson defiantly preferred Shaq over Kobe.

  • nbk Posted: Feb.8 at 1:33 pm
    Shaq’s opinion has no credibility.

  • GP23 Posted: Feb.8 at 1:34 pm
    ^Exactly

  • #6marjon Posted: Feb.8 at 1:39 pm
    i think he’s good for TNT but shaq is quickly ruining his reputation and his ignorance is becoming highlighted now he’s not playing basketball.

  • Heals Posted: Feb.8 at 2:06 pm
    Totally honest, totally truthful…

  • charliewinning Posted: Feb.8 at 2:55 pm
    This is the first time Kobe has said something I totally respect. Props to him for his honesty.

  • Dungeon Family Posted: Feb.8 at 3:25 pm
    These two will forever be intertwined In NBA history

  • Enigmatic Posted: Feb.8 at 4:02 pm
    Back when Shaq was still playing and everyone loved him and his quotes I was saying dude sounded like an idiot.
    Good to see most agree with me now.
    Seriously tho, the things this dude says… I mean, really?

  • BlackPhantom Posted: Feb.8 at 4:12 pm
    Yeah that’s definitely the truth

  • retrobat Posted: Feb.8 at 4:22 pm
    I’ve found that I don’t really like him on TNT. He seems like he’s trying too hard and I don’t think he is objective enough to be an analyst.

  • datkid Posted: Feb.8 at 4:32 pm
    ^^ he is not a good fit on TNT at all. when chuck makes you look stupid you gotta go… only his occasionally funny comments save him from being like a complete failure as a character.

  • B-Mac Posted: Feb.8 at 4:33 pm
    Kobe had a huge losing season in 04-05… Nuff said

  • dfrance21 Posted: Feb.8 at 4:35 pm
    He absolutely sucks on Inside. He tries to sound like he’s providing insight into the game and he really adds nothing. They should have made CWebb full time and let Shaq have an NBA TV show.

  • Dungeon Family Posted: Feb.8 at 4:40 pm
    Prime example of Just how dominant they BOTH were together
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkvpnmAk2xU Look at the graph at 0:54

  • albie1kenobi Posted: Feb.8 at 4:47 pm
    Shaqin’ a fool needs to be cancelled. it’s worthless.

  • bike Posted: Feb.8 at 5:21 pm
    Kobe, over time, has matured although he retains a certain level of arrogance and stubbornness.
    Shaq, on the other hand, seems to still be stuck in 5th grade. It’s probably the result of being so much bigger than everyone else his whole life and no one daring to smack him out of it.

  • Heals Posted: Feb.8 at 6:18 pm
    Totally agree with ya’ll who think he’s been excess on TNT (and I’m a Shaq fan for the most part). From day one I’ve felt the chemistry isn’t as good as just the trio. Kenny, Chuck and EG, plus the occasional Magic or other guests was perfect. Shaq is great (to me), but he doesn’t add alot right now. His POV’s need more substance. But he’s a rook so here’s to a better soph year on Inside…

  • Hugo Posted: Feb.8 at 6:38 pm
    shaq really isnt the brightest fish in the pond…and kobe is making sure to say things that discredit what shaq is sayin…lmao

  • MikeC. Posted: Feb.8 at 6:47 pm
    What happened to GP as an analyst? Was there an issue that got him booted?

  • hegotsgame Posted: Feb.8 at 6:48 pm
    hey B-mac, true the Lakers went 34-48 in 04-05 but really, all Kobe’s fault. Shaq & Phil are gone, Fisher opted out and left, Rudy T quit mid-season because of health reasons, Malone retired mid season, GP was traded in a 5 player deal, and Kobe and Lamar had major injuries. Not making excuses but that’s not really nuff said…

  • Hursty Posted: Feb.8 at 8:27 pm
    Kobe was also injured in that 05 season I believe.

  • The Seed Posted: Feb.8 at 9:20 pm
    Shaq has always been a douche, people back then just excused his poor behavior. Shaq always got on my nerves, because he wasted his career, because he never trained hard, like getting surgery on company time and was worried about more how he looked in media, than his game. How can the most suppose dominate player to some dumbies have one MVP and now suck up to Kobe all the time. Kobe was the player of the decade and MJ stated he can be compared against him. So I take Kobe career. BOOK IT!!

  • Bill Posted: Feb.9 at 3:47 am
    It’s been proven Kobe can’t do anything without an All-Star center’s coattails to ride. Jordan had Bill Wennington and Luc Longley.

  • Justin G. Posted: Feb.9 at 4:05 am
    ^^^Yes but he also had Scottie Pippen who was top 50 all time. @AllenP…he didn’t say it was all the media but there’s no denying the media would embellish things. It’s what they do. This site might be one of the most glaring examples of it

  • JP7 Posted: Feb.9 at 4:26 am
    Afro Kobe, buff Shaq, Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, NBA Courtside for N64, those were fun times, they wouldn’t have been able to get past the Spurs without Glen Rice tho, so Shaquille and Kobe need to pay homage to the big homie.

  • NSChi23 Posted: Feb.9 at 10:19 am
    Truth be told if Shaq stayed in Orlando and that team stayed healthy the Shaq/Penny tandem could have won 2 titles or maybe 3. I would love to see how history would have played out that way. How many titles would Kobe have if he never played with Shaq? 1?2?3?4?

  • Tim Posted: Feb.15 at 1:27 am
    Jordan had Horace Grant at PF and Cartwright at C too, don`t underestimat that fantastic duo.

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