Shaquille O’Neal elaborates on his misunderstandings with Kobe Bryant: “I was never gonna beat him up”

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NBA’s dominant center of the recent era, Shaquille O’Neal was on The Jordan Harbinger Show, where he talked about his rivalry with Kobe Bryant  

With Kobe’s death anniversary coming in just a few days, Shaquille O’Neal was on the Jordan Harbinger Show, where he talked about his early life, relation with Kobe Bryant, and joining Police Academy.

Early 2000 was dominated by the Lakers duo Kobe and Shaq, where they literally referred to the period as the “Kobe-Shaq era”. The Lakers were the dominant force and their duo was performing at the highest level. Though Kobe was fairly new to the league, O’Neal was the big man to fear near the rim.

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Shaquille O’Neal elaborates on his misunderstandings with Kobe Bryant: “I was never gonna beat him up” 2

They had a great run in the Playoffs, winning 3 consecutive NBA Championships for the Lakers. But their 8-year partnership was broken after the 2004 finals loss and it ended glorious seasons of the Lakers’ history.

Shaquille O’Neal on Kobe Bryant in a recent interview with Jordan Harbinger

Shaq emphasized more on the three-peat Lakers achieved with him and Kobe. He said, “the keyword is Respect. Like a man you can have respect for disagreement.” Both players had indeed shown a lot of respect for each other after their separation as well.

He further added that he tried to be all perfect while talking to Kobe, because Kobe was all prepared, in all sense. “We have a conversation, and we just move on,” Shaq said about Kobe. 

Shaq went into Kobe’s last game, challenging him for 50 points. Well, Kobe did “respectfully” fulfill his big brother’s wish with a game-winning 60 against the Jazz.

Do watch the interview to know more.

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