The animosity between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal during their time as Los Angeles Lakers teammates never has been a secret.
Now another verbal punch has been thrown in the always-interesting relationship.
In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Bryant elaborated on some of the frustration he dealt with when the two stars shared a team.
“It used to drive me crazy that he was so lazy,” Bryant told Ben McGrath. “You got to have the responsibility of working every single day. You can’t skate through (expletive).”
Former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson previously told Sean Highkin of USA Today Sports that the L.A. dynasty in the early 2000s broke up — in part at least — because of the “clown role” that Shaq had to fill. While it might have made O’Neal a fan favorite, Bryant and Jackson didn’t seem to appreciate it.
Shaq always has argued against his former coach and teammate and their condemning suggestions, but it’s tough to imagine that his free throws wouldn’t have improved had he spent some time practicing them every day.
Photo via Twitter/@Danreilly954
