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How Shaquille O'Neal Demolished a Lakers Dynasty (Inside Stories)The 1999-00 season was not without confrontation, O'Neal in one team meeting said, "I have something to say. I think Kobe is playing too selfishly for us to win." 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." The coaches would also tell the team they did not see the selfishness in Bryant that the players saw. Tex Winter even put together a video for O'Neal to show that Bryant was playing his role correctly.
Upon arriving to the Lakers that season, Tex 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. 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 seasons All-Star warm-ups, O'Neal mimicked Bryant's crossover dribble but threw the ball into the stands to accentuate Bryant's turnovers.
In 2001, O'Neal came into training camp out of shape, which disappointed Jackson and also Bryant. Bryant was leading the league in scoring as 2001 began, and Jackson said Bryant was playing the best ball of his career. O'Neal was shooting below 50 percent during stretches, and his free throw shooting was in the 20 percent range. O'Neal requested a trade after a blowout win against the Phoenix Suns where Bryant scored 38 and O'Neal scored 18. Jackson commented that their actions were "juvenile" and they should appreciate each other and play as a team. Bryant would be criticized for forcing his offense and not involving his teammates enough. According to Bryant, the team's defense was the issue and not his increased role in the offense. Bryant said that "scoring shouldn't affect (O'Neal's) defense," while O'Neal maintained that "if the big dog ain't me, then the house won't get guarded – period." Due to O'Neal's sensitivity toward criticism, Jackson overlooked O'Neal's shortcomings while maintaining his criticism of Bryant. Jerry West told O'Neal that he also had personal rivalries when he played with all-time greats Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, but O'Neal needed to "stop being a baby ... put the team's success first."
Magic Johnson later noticed a change in O'Neal: "Shaq is saying 'It's me. I'm the one who has to get into shape, I'm the one who has to be ready for the second half run. I'm the one who has to close the middle down like I did last year..." Fisher returned on March 13, upgrading the team's defense. The Lakers won their last eight games to finish the regular season with 56 wins. O'Neal averaged 33.7 points over the final 11 games. Bryant, upon returning from an injury, was willing to build off of O'Neal now that the center was in shape and playing defense. Bryant would play unselfishly in the playoffs. O'Neal referred to Bryant as "[his] idol" and "the best player in the league, by far" following a victory in Game 1 of that year's Western Conference Finals. The Lakers won the championship after a record-setting 15 wins and only one loss. After the lone loss, which was in the opening game of the NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jackson criticized O'Neal for his lack of defense. Before the following game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson growled at O'Neal, "Don't be afraid to block a shot!" after O'Neal failed to block a shot in Game 1.
The 2002–03 NBA season began with the three-time defending champions getting off to one of their worst starts ever. The team was several games under .500 at 11–19 with their return to the playoffs questionable. O'Neal was sidelined with a toe injury and could have had surgery on his toe early in the summer (which would have allowed him to return to playing sooner), but he decided to wait and have the surgery performed not long before the Lakers' pre-season training camp began. He said, "I got hurt on company time, so I’ll rehab on company time." During the season, Jackson had ordered Bryant to be more aggressive, Bryant then had a nine-game streak where he scored at least 40 points and a 13-game streak where he scored 35 or better and the Lakers ended that season with the 5th seed in the Western Conference.
Just prior to the start of the 2003–04 season, Bryant privately warned Jackson, "If (O'Neal) starts saying (unreasonable) things in the press, I'll fire back ... I've had it." With Bryant absent from camp due to his legal situation and his recovery from knee surgery, O'Neal said "the full team is here." Later, after sitting out an exhibition game to rest a sore left heel, O'Neal said, "I want to be right [in the regular season] for Derek [Fisher], Karl and Gary." Bryant was again ignored by O'Neal.
When Bryant joined the Lakers in camp, O'Neal told reporters Bryant should look to be more of a passer than a scorer until Bryant's knee was fully healed. Bryant responded that he knew how to play the guard position, and O'Neal should worry about the low post. O'Neal added that he would voice his opinions as he saw fit because the Lakers were his team. He said that if Bryant, who would be a free agent at the season's end, didn't like what O'Neal had to say, Bryant should just opt out, O'Neal said "I ain't going nowhere." Jackson told the team to not discuss the issue further with reporters.
In a subsequent interview with Jim Gray of ESPN, Bryant questioned O'Neal's claims of team leadership. Bryant claimed that O'Neal came into training camp "fat and out of shape", that O'Neal blamed others for the team's defeats, and that O'Neal previously exaggerated the degree to which injuries had affected his game as a cover for simply being out of condition. Bryant criticized O'Neal's public lobbying for a contract extension when "we have two future Hall of Famers (Malone and Payton) playing here pretty much for free". He also criticized O'Neal for only taking responsibility when the team won. He accused O'Neal of threatening not to put forth his best effort if he was not passed the ball more often.
The Lakers also suspended talks with O'Neal, who wanted an extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." Tex Winter said, "Even though Shaq was a big presence, he was not a great shot blocker. And he didn't like to play the screen and roll, so he put his teammates in jeopardy. He didn't like to help [on defense]."
In March, after Bryant received internal criticism about his shot selection, he scored just one point while taking three shots in the first half against Orlando which the Lakers trailed by 11. He scored 37 in the second half and tied a team record with 24 in the fourth quarter as the Lakers won in overtime. Jackson urged Bryant to be more aggressive offensively. The Lakers ultimately entered the playoffs as the second seed, thanks to an overtime victory versus the Portland Trail Blazers on the final night of the season, courtesy of a pair of buzzer beaters from Bryant.
Eventually Jackson, a favorite of O'Neal, was not offered a new contract by the Lakers. Many sports analysts and spectators assumed that this was because of Bryant, who had at times voiced displeasure with Jackson's offensive scheme. However, Tex Winter said Jackson announced at the All-Star break that he would not want to return to the Lakers if Bryant returned. Buss also longed for the Lakers to return to the fast break offense of Showtime. After learning of Jackson's departure, O'Neal demanded to be traded. He made it clear that he felt the Laker organization was making moves designed primarily to placate Bryant, saying "The direction they’re going ... I don’t want to be a part of this."
Regardless, newspapers the next day criticized Bryant for his alleged manipulation of the team. O'Neal added, "When it came to my leaving, [Kobe] could have spoken up. He could have said something. He didn't say anything." Tex Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."
In 2007, O'Neal said that Bryant should have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, which was awarded to Dirk Nowitzki. During the offseason, Bryant was "beyond furious" at reports from a Laker insider that Bryant had insisted O'Neal be traded from the Lakers. Bryant reported that Buss said, "I am not going to re-sign Shaq. I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years ... His body is breaking down, and I don't want to pay that money to him when I can get value for him right now rather than wait ... It doesn't matter to me what you do in free agency because I do not want to pay [Shaq], period."
O'Neal agreed with Bryant: "There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent ... I would have respected Dr. Buss more as a man if he would have told me that himself, because I know he said it."
In 2008, O'Neal reiterated his belief that Bryant deserved the MVP award. During the offseason, O'Neal mentioned Bryant multiple times in the rap, saying that "Kobe couldn't do it without me", referring to Bryant and the Lakers loss in the 2008 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics. He also was quoted saying "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes."
Bryant and the Lakers would go to face the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals. Shaq showed support for Kobe, on his Twitter page saying: “thats right i am saying it today and today only, i want kobe bryant to get number 4, spread da word.”
Bill Simmons of ESPN speculated that O'Neal wanted to tie Bryant with five titles and that still "Shaq hates Kobe and Kobe hates Shaq." O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night – like D-Wade, Kobe."
After his retirement, O'Neal was hired by Turner Sports as an NBA analyst. When asked whether it would be difficult for him to criticize Bryant, he answered "I have the ability and the backing to give fair criticism. The only time I have trouble with people giving criticism is when they haven't walked that walk. I've walked many walks in my 19-year career, so I think any criticism that I give should be fair."
Sources:
Sports Illustrated
ESPN
The Los Angeles Times
The New York Times
The Show: The Inside Story of the Spectacular Los Angeles Lakers, by Roland Lazenby
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