Before the 2003 season, ESPN spotted Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal joking and passing on the practice floor. But things turned tense fast. Shaq suggested Kobe should focus more on passing until his legs were stronger, and Kobe shot back that he didn’t need advice on how to play his game. He insisted he knew his guard spot, and Shaq could handle the low post. Shaq doubled down: “As we start this new season, we want [expletive] done right. If you don’t like it, then you can opt out next year. As long as it’s my team, then I’ll voice my opinion. If you don’t like it, then opt out.” And that “my team” mindset? Nick Young says it’s exactly what set Shaq on the path to his eventual trade to Miami.

Nick Young didn’t hold back when the conversation turned to Kobe on Gil Arenas’ show. “I ain’t knocking the talent both of y’all had,” Nick told Gilbert Arenas and T-Mac, “but you ain’t got the mindset to go in there and say either Shaq or me, that’s winning the championship. Y’all could went and got a Shaq. Kobe went in there and said, ‘get this fat m—— outta here,’ you gotta have that type of guts and telling somebody to get rid of Shaq and they do it.” Gil cut in: “But that’s why they lost—” Nick doubled down: “His mindset it was like I’m not no.2, it me or him. Remember when Kobe said he got mad after they kept saying it was Shaq’s team—” Tracy McGrady closed the loop with a simple jab, suggesting Kobe’s push to oust Shaq backfired: “But did they win though?”

A Lakers squad powered by Shaq and Kobe, three straight titles already in the bag, looked primed for a fourth after adding Gary Payton and Karl Malone. But instead of another ring, they ran into Chauncey Billups and the gritty, defensive-minded Pistons in 2004, who shocked them 4–1. Years later, Shaq admitted on Straight Game what really happened: “You know you have to be together to win a championship. That was the year…and we weren’t really together. So he [Kobe Bryant] did the right thing, when we lost, he said, ‘Hey, we have to get rid of Shaq. Or I’m not coming back.’ So they chose a younger guy, and then I was traded a couple of days later.” But that decision cost the Lakers their 2005 playoffs. For the first time in 11 seasons—and only the fifth time in franchise history—the Lakers were watching the playoffs from home.

In 2018, Kobe Bryant admitted to Shaq during their TNT sit-down that he was seriously preparing to leave the Lakers for the Bulls in 2004. He and Vanessa had even toured Chicago, looking at homes in Lake Forest, researching schools, and meeting with Bulls executives Jerry Reinsdorf and John Paxson. The only reason it never happened? While vacationing in Italy, Kobe got word from his agent, Rob Pelinka, that Shaq had requested a trade. Kobe’s reaction? “I was like, ‘Well, there goes Chicago. There’s no way the Lakers are going to lose me and Shaq in the same year.’” 

For years, the narrative has been that Kobe pushed Shaquille O’Neal out. Shaq himself has claimed it. But Kobe told a different version, one that pointed straight at the Lakers’ owner, Jerry Buss. According to Kobe, Buss had already decided before the ’04 offseason that he wasn’t going to re-sign O’Neal. The reason was simple: “I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years. No way in hell. I feel like he’s getting older. 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,” Kobe recalled Buss saying.

Shaquille O’Neal’s exit shook the franchise, and he proved he wasn’t done yet by winning a title with Miami in 2006. Kobe endured a few rocky years in L.A. before the Pau Gasol trade reset the dynasty and opened the door to back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. That run re-ignited the debate between the two legends, with Kobe’s resurgence stinging Shaq in a way only an ex-teammate’s success could.

Shaquille O’Neal vs. Kobe Bryant: Conflict as fuel for a dynasty

Shaquille O’Neal has never shied away from admitting that his clashes with Kobe weren’t just ego; they were calculated. On Armchair Expert, he flat-out compared their dynamic to The Godfather: “You got the godfather who came from Orlando, and he’s the godfather.” From the start, he wanted Kobe in constant attack mode, even if it meant butting heads. “People don’t understand everything I did was planned… I don’t want us to get along. I want us to f— win.” His strategy? Remind Kobe that L.A. was his turf. “This ain’t your team. This my team, little m———–. They can scream Kobe all they want, this is my m—- team.” Shaq knew that kind of jab would make Kobe take 30 shots just to prove him wrong and that was exactly the point.

He painted it like a win-win. If Shaquille O’Neal dropped 28–30 and Kobe went out trying to top him, the Lakers got 60 combined. “I knew exactly what I was doing. If I know you’re going to give me your best when you’re upset, I’m gonna make you upset.” Even Phil Jackson played into it. Brian Shaw once asked why Phil never scolded Kobe, and Phil just shrugged, saying he wanted Kobe “in attack mode.” Shaq loved that. For him, the push-and-pull wasn’t about being friends; it was about rings, attention, and marketability. And for a while, it worked; they won three straight titles, fueled by a rivalry that never cooled off.

If you really break it down, Shaq and Kobe weren’t just two stars, they were a partnership that powered a dynasty. In 2000, Shaq was at his peak (30.7 ppg, 15.4 reb in the playoffs), the MVP and clear leader, while a 21-year-old Kobe still showed flashes, like the alley-oop lob to Shaq that sealed the Blazers series. By 2001, though, Kobe had leveled up big time, nearly matching Shaq blow for blow (Shaq: 30.4 & 15.4, Kobe: 29.4 & 7.3) as they steamrolled to title No. 2. And even with their issues boiling in 2002, they were still unstoppable—Shaq going for 28.5 & 12.6, Kobe right there at 26.6 & 5.8. Across those three runs, one night Shaq would drop 40, the next Kobe would put up 48. It was Wilt and Mike rolled into one duo—dominance inside and out, feeding off each other to make history.