{"id":1218577,"date":"2020-08-18T03:31:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T07:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1218577"},"modified":"2023-02-21T17:40:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T22:40:42","slug":"bill-russell-is-actually-the-reason-why-kobe-bryant-and-shaquille-oneal-stopped-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/bill-russell-is-actually-the-reason-why-kobe-bryant-and-shaquille-oneal-stopped-fighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Russell Is Actually the Reason Why Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal Stopped Fighting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Two of the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-found-a-special-way-to-honor-kobe-bryant-in-his-house\/\">greatest NBA players to ever compete<\/a> won three consecutive championships together. Under the guidance of the greatest coach in the league, they became a formidable duo. Kobe Bryant and <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/shaquille-oneal\/\">Shaquille O'Neal<\/a> were <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-coping-with-multiple-tragedies-in-recent-months-wont-watch-2020-hall-of-fame-ceremony\/\">obvious Hall of Fame candidates<\/a>; their time together felt like history in the making even as it unfolded in real-time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But on a personal level, they could barely stand each other. It took sage advice from a third NBA great to finally put a <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-offered-isaiah-rider-10000-to-fight-kobe-bryant\/\">stop to the conflict<\/a>. This is how Bryant and O'Neal worked past their beef and became friends thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/bill-russell\/\">Bill Russell<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-kobe-bryant-and-shaquille-o-neal-s-fight-began\">How Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal's fight began<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stephen A. tells old stories about Kobe and Shaq\u2019s beef | Stephen A. Smith Show\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/abTSUK3KG4g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/how-kobe-bryant-and-shaq-sent-jerry-west-to-the-hospital\/\">How Kobe Bryant and Shaq Sent Jerry West to the Hospital<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kobe\/Shaq feud started off as soon as the Lakers <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-emotionally-details-first-time-he-met-kobe-bryant-and-1-thing-he-wishes-he-could-tell-him-today\/\">drafted a teenage Bryant<\/a> in 1996. Shaq was unmoved by the hype surrounding the young prospect and wasn't shy about saying it. Bryant said on the Hollywood Reporter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/race\/awards-chatter-podcast-kobe-bryant-dear-basketball-1044672\"><em>Awards Chatter Podcast<\/em><\/a> that Shaq went as far as slapping him during a pickup game during this era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the two became more effective on the court together, the acrimony seemed to get more public, and more heated. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/04\/01\/sports\/pro-basketball-notebook-bryant-feels-like-a-square-in-lakers-triangle-offense.html?pagewanted=3&amp;src=pm\">New York Times<\/a> reported that during the 1999-2000 season, Shaq called out Kobe in front of the team. During a meeting, he said Kobe was playing too selfishly for the Lakers to have <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/the-lakers-championship-hopes-took-a-devastating-blow-before-the-season-even-restarted\/\">any playoff success<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The two regularly said negative things about each other in the press during their time together, as this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/01\/11\/sports\/pro-basketball-tension-between-o-neal-and-bryant-is-rising-every-day.html?pagewanted=all&amp;src=pm\">New York Times<\/a> follow-up piece notes. But these types of interactions were not entirely out of line with how NBA players often called each other out during heated moments. It was the personal clashes, happening completely outside the public eye, that made this a true beef between the two superstars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bill-russell-s-sage-advice-ended-the-acrimony\">Bill Russell's sage advice ended the acrimony<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kobe Bryant describes relationship with &#039;mentor&#039; Bill Russell | Andscape | ESPN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NFXtOtRFhns?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Shaq, fed up with Kobe, pushed for a trade and got it. Via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/playoffs\/2006-nba-finals-heat-vs-mavericks.html\">Basketball-Reference<\/a>, he would go on to win one <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaq-kobe-dont-win-first-title-together-without-blazers-epic-collapse\/\">more championship<\/a>, this time with the Miami Heat. Kobe won two more championships sticking with the Lakers. The two met several times in the intervening period, never acknowledging one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That changed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2006. Before the game, Shaq met with Russell. The two talked about their experiences in the league, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/recap?gameId=260116013\">ESPN report<\/a> at the time. Russell revealed that his one-time rival, the great Wilt Chamberlain, became a close friend in retirement. By the time Chamberlain passed away, the pair were talking on the phone twice a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NBA-Bill-Russell-Shaquille-ONeal-Kobe-Bryant.jpg?strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Bill Russell, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant\" class=\"wp-image-1218630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NBA-Bill-Russell-Shaquille-ONeal-Kobe-Bryant.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NBA-Bill-Russell-Shaquille-ONeal-Kobe-Bryant.jpg?w=300&amp;h=200 300w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NBA-Bill-Russell-Shaquille-ONeal-Kobe-Bryant.jpg?w=768&amp;h=511 768w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NBA-Bill-Russell-Shaquille-ONeal-Kobe-Bryant.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=682 1024w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NBA-Bill-Russell-Shaquille-ONeal-Kobe-Bryant.jpg?w=90&amp;h=60 90w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption>NBA legends Bill Russell, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant in 2017 | Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Russell pressed Shaq to try to develop his <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/how-kobe-bryant-proved-shaq-wrong-in-his-last-nba-game\/\">rivalry with Kobe<\/a> into a similar phase. He made a point of greeting Bryant before the game, asking about his family. The two hugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We've been through so many wars together,&#8221; Bryant <a href=\"https:\/\/greensboro.com\/sports_professional\/basketball\/shaq-gains-peace-lakers-attain-win\/article_518266d6-eacc-5c38-87b8-3ecffbc15322.html\">told the Associated Press<\/a>. &#8220;Now, [it feels good to] just be able to move on, try to do the best for this team, wish him the best in South Beach.&#8221; Shaq went on to help win the NBA Finals for Miami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shaq-s-reflects-on-his-relationship-with-kobe\">Shaq's reflects on his relationship with Kobe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shaq Breaks Down in Tears Talking about Kobe Bryant\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qloOyrRUlu4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaq-has-1-regret-regarding-his-relationship-with-kobe-bryant\/\">Shaq Has 1 Regret Regarding His Relationship With Kobe Bryant<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These interpersonal moments are key, because <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kobe-bryant-once-sued-an-entire-city-and-made-fun-of-shaq-at-the-same-time\/\">much of the trash talking<\/a> between the two in public may have been somewhat exaggerated. Both players have since admitted that they played up their feud to an extent. As early as 2009, Shaq <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/news\/story?id=3873700\">admitted to ESPN<\/a> that he &#8220;always loved Kobe,&#8221; and that the two came to an understanding during the threepeat Lakers years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But they still weren't exactly <em>friends<\/em> until Russell's intervention set them on a new course. Their feud took on a smirking, knowing sort of feel. It became entirely kayfabe, with no substance behind it. When Shaq's <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/1683156-five-year-anniversary-of-shaqs-kobe-tell-me-how-my-a-taste-freestyle\">infamous 2008 freestyle<\/a> threw in a hilarious offhanded line meant to insult Kobe, it was hard to imagine there being any malice behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Kobe died in a freak helicopter crash, Shaq was stunned. The two had grown close over the years. He gave <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2fqYgNR6174\">a memorable speech<\/a> at Bryant's memorial service, acknowledging how the two grew from legitimate feuding to a loving rivalry. Their family connections were deep enough at the end, that one of Kobe's final texts was to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cheatsheet.com\/entertainment\/shaq-shares-his-heartbreaking-regret-about-his-kobe-bryant-friendship.html\/\">Shaq's son Shareef<\/a>. A far cry from a young upstart enraged at being hazed by a massive, experienced guard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal could barely stand each other. This is how they stopped fighting and became friends thanks to Bill Russell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":1218630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[447323,4829,4855],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bill Russell Is Actually the Reason Why Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&#039;Neal Stopped Fighting - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&#039;Neal could barely stand each other. 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He's been writing professionally for the past seven years and writing as a hobbyist for more than a decade. Gus has his grandfather to thank for his early interest in baseball, especially the Chicago Cubs. He also grew up in Michael Jordan's Bulls heyday, so he'll never shake the NBA. Gus is into gaming as a hobby, particularly fighting games. In his view, the gaming world is the oldest esports scene, and following that growth helps with writing about the business side of sports, as well as any esports connections that come up in sports writing.  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