UPDATE (09/09/2016): After Shaquille O’Neal said that Kobe Bryant hasn’t congratulated him on his induction into the basketball Hall of Fame, Bryant posted a congratulatory post on Instagram:
Was Bryant just waiting until the induction was official? Or was he motivated by O’Neal noting that he hadn’t congratulated him yet? Who knows?
09/08/2016:
The relationship between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant has always been a strained one. The questions surrounding it were enough to convince Pat Riley not to coach the Lakers. It was also enough to make a “Super Team” implode after winning back-to-back-to-back championships. Shaq was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame today. He was asked if his old teammate had congratulated him:
Has Shaq heard from Kobe about his Hall of Fame induction? “No. Never.”
— Bill Oram (@billoram) September 8, 2016
Now, I’m sure Kobe Bryant is a very busy man. That being said, Shaq was selected for the Hall back in April. Plus, with today’s technology, it would take Kobe mere seconds to shoot him a text or Tweet at him. So, in all likelihood, Bryant chose not to congratulate Shaq. This really isn’t a big deal though, in all honesty. The two obviously have a rough history, and as a result are not close friends today. With that in mind, it doesn’t seem too strange for Kobe to not congratulate Shaq.
Plus… He’s Kobe Bryant. Kobe has always had a reputation for being standoffish and introverted — the exact opposite of the personable Shaquille O’Neal. The stark contrast between their personalities was one reason that their partnership in Los Angeles was doomed to fail. A congratulatory text to O’Neal would seem more out of character for Bryant than this lack of congratukations.
