It was something that the media took hold of and threw in a stick of dynamite. The Shaq and Kobe feud got everyone talking. Even after Shaq left the Lakers, people were still talking about it. People STILL talk about.
We now know that the feud between the two NBA legends is a thing of the past. But they haven’t candidly talked about it together. Well they have now ladies and gentlemen. If you didn’t know. Shaq has a podcast (which I definitely recommend, very funny) and every week he has one or two guests to chat with. Next episode, Shaq’s guest will be none other than Kobe Bryant. The podcast hasn’t dropped yet, but LakerNation has a little preview.
Is there anything, Shaq, that you would like to take back in the give and take over the years?
Shaq: “A lot of things, you just played the clip where I said I wanted to be traded. I definitely did not want to leave L.A., but you know that’s how you’ve got to talk when you’re in business, especially when you think you’re in control. Definitely didn’t want to leave L.A. A lot of stuff was said out of the heat of the moment. I guarantee I don’t remember a lot of stuff that they said because I changed my thought process of, you know what we won three out of four, what the hell are you all talking about, this is not really even a story.”
Anything you want to take back Kobe?
Kobe Bryant: “Here’s the thing though, when you say it at the time you actually mean it and then when you get older you have more perspective and you’re like holy s—, I was an idiot when I was a kid. To me, the most important thing was really just keep your mouth shut. You don’t need to go to the press with stuff. You keep it internal and we have our arguments and our disagreements, but I think having our debates within the press was something I wish would’ve been avoided, but it did kind of create this whirlwind around us as a team with myself and Shaq and the press and the media that just put so much pressure on us as an organization.”
Well the fact that they talked about it candidly, both with a form of regret, is nice to see. Shaq talking about it was more around the area of the media blowing it up and making it a story. I mean, they still got rings. It’s not like the Lakers went downhill because of the feud.
