{"id":1408210,"date":"2021-09-04T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1408210"},"modified":"2021-09-04T07:00:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T11:00:02","slug":"shaquille-oneal-drops-bombshell-about-kobe-bryant-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/shaquille-oneal-drops-bombshell-about-kobe-bryant-feud\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaquille O'Neal Drops a Bombshell About His Kobe Bryant Feud: &#8216;The One Thing I Understood Was Marketing'"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For years, the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/shaquille-oneal\/\">Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a> vs. Kobe Bryant beef dominated sports headlines. Even though the duo teamed up for four NBA Finals appearances and three titles over their eight seasons together with the Los Angeles Lakers, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kobe-bryant-backhanded-compliment-bashing-shaquille-oneal-work-ethic-hed-be-the-greatest-of-all-time\/\">their frosty relationship<\/a> off the court that captivated many. But a recent revelation from The Diesel casts doubts onto <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-threatened-to-murder-kobe-bryant-after-scathing-interview\/\">how bad the relationship was<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The partnership ended in 2004 when the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kobe-bryant-officially-off-the-hook-reason-lakers-traded-shaquille-oneal\/\">Lakers traded O\u2019Neal<\/a> to the Miami Heat for three players and two draft picks. Shaq got the first laugh when the Heat won a title in 2006, giving him a 4\u20133 edge in rings. But Bryant ended up with the advantage with back-to-back titles with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. There was lots of trash talk in both directions along the way, but O\u2019Neal recently revealed the hate was just business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shaquille-o-neal-and-kobe-bryant-were-unquestionably-one-of-the-nba-s-top-tandems\">Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Kobe Bryant were unquestionably one of the NBA\u2019s top tandems<\/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 &amp; Shaquille O&#039;Neal - Brotherhood\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-czQUdQbTrk?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><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/heres-what-kobe-bryant-said-to-shaquille-oneal-as-soon-as-they-met\/\">In their early years<\/a>, the Lakers were a good team with Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Kobe Bryant but couldn\u2019t get over the hump in a rugged Western Conference. From 1997\u201399, the Lakers 148\u201366, but lost in the playoffs to the eventual conference champion Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998, and the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter Phil Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the Zen Master at the helm, the Lakers <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/throwing-towel-literally-helped-lead-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-dynasty\/\">immediately transformed into a dynasty<\/a> that bridged the 20th and 21st centuries. LA won three straight titles from 2000\u201302. After a second-round loss to the Spurs in 2003, the Lakers returned to the Finals in 2004. But the star-studded club fell to the Pistons in five games in 2004. With the trade of O\u2019Neal, the party officially ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were indications the feud was real. Dennis Rodman was briefly a Laker in 1999. The Worm <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/dennis-rodman-sick-of-kobe-bryant-shaquille-oneal-arguing-he-took-vacation\/\">reportedly got so frustrated<\/a> by the bickering between the team\u2019s two young stars that he bailed and took a Vegas vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O\u2019Neal\u2019s latest revelation isn\u2019t quite so shocking, given how the players reconciled later. Maybe it\u2019s because the beef was actually turkey all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shaquille-o-neal-says-the-feud-with-kobe-bryant-was-embellished\">Shaquille O\u2019Neal says the feud with Kobe Bryant was embellished<\/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&#039;s Competitive \u201cBeef\u201d with Kobe Bryant &amp; Secret to Getting Girls with Druski\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UnaxjPugBwM?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>Shaquille O\u2019Neal revealed the truth behind the legendary beef with Kobe Bryant during a recent appearance on the <em>Full Send Podcast<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI perpetuated it out of the locker room because the one thing I understood was marketing. So, \u2018I don\u2019t like him, and he don\u2019t like me,\u2019 and everybody talked about us. That\u2019s all I want. It kind of went too far where people kind of believed it. If you believe it, then you think we win three out of four?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a chance this is Revisionist History 101 on display. <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-heartbreakingly-moment-kobe-bryant-death\/\">Bryant\u2019s tragic death in 2020<\/a> makes it impossible for him to refute O\u2019Neal\u2019s statement and makes it advantageous for Shaq to spin it into a happier tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there were other telling moments. When Bryant and O\u2019Neal shared MVP honors at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kobe-bryant-heartwarming-gesture-shaquille-oneal-duo-shared-mvp-honors-2009-nba-all-star-game\/\">Kobe gave the trophy<\/a> to his former teammate. Bryant\u2019s intent was for O\u2019Neal to give the award to his young son, Shareef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a telling one-on-one interview, Shaq told Kobe it was at the All-Star Game he realized how hard he had been on Bryant through the years. He later said he <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-regrets-not-finishing-career-lakers-alongside-kobe-bryant\/\">regrets not staying in LA<\/a> to finish his career with Bryant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shareef-o-neal-might-be-the-recipient-of-kobe-bryant-s-last-message\">Shareef O\u2019Neal might be the recipient of Kobe Bryant\u2019s last message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg?w=1024&#038;h=614&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant reportedly feuded for much of their eight years together with the Los Angeles Lakers\" class=\"wp-image-1408213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg?w=300&amp;h=180 300w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg?w=768&amp;h=461 768w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=614 1024w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=720 1200w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shaqkobe.jpg?w=100&amp;h=60 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" \/><figcaption>Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant reportedly feuded for much of their eight years together with the Los Angeles Lakers. | LUCY NICHOLSON\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, Shaquille O\u2019Neal\u2019s son, Shareef, received a text message from Kobe Bryant. The now-retired NBA legend served as a mentor to O\u2019Neal, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shareef-oneal-finds-a-special-way-to-honor-his-father-and-kobe-bryant-through-his-jersey-number\/\">now a redshirt junior at LSU<\/a> (where his father also played). The text was simply a check-in message asking how the youngster was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O\u2019Neal replied but never received a response. Like the rest of us, he learned later that Bryant had died in a helicopter crash later that morning. The elder O\u2019Neal was devastated by Bryant\u2019s death and gave a touching speech at Kobe\u2019s memorial service in LA. Shaq referred to his former teammate as a \u201clittle brother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll never know the truth about the feud. But it might make it easier to digest by believing Shaquille O\u2019Neal perpetuated the myth of the Kobe Bryant beef for its marketing value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If nothing else, it\u2019s a much happier Hollywood ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Statistics courtesy of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Basketball Reference<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kobe-bryant-6-word-sentence-savagely-troll-shaquille-oneal-5th-nba-title\/\">Kobe Bryant Used a Simple 6-Word Sentence to Savagely Troll Shaquille O\u2019Neal After Winning His 5th NBA Title<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant reportedly feuded for much of their eight years together with the Los Angeles Lakers. But O'Neal says now it was more marketing ploy than legitimate beef.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":1408213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4829,4817,4855],"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>Shaquille O&#039;Neal Drops a Bombshell About His Kobe Bryant Feud: &#039;The One Thing I Understood Was Marketing&#039; - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shaquille O&#039;Neal and Kobe Bryant reportedly feuded for much of their eight years together with the Los Angeles Lakers. 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