“I Gotta Be Either the Dumbest, or Most Courageous Kid”: Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant Once Got Into a Fist Fight With Hall of Fame Teammate Shaquille O’Neal

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal are one of the greatest duos to ever play the game. While both of them had numerous achievements as individuals, the best years of either of their careers came while they were together. However, things weren’t always good between the two.

They used to be at each other’s throats most of the time as teammates. While both of them managed to keep their rivalry away from the court, things escalated, and O’Neal was eventually shipped off to Miami. Things got so heated between them that they had at least one fist fight with each other.

A few years ago, when Kobe Bryant was a guest on Shaquille O’Neal‘s podcast, they reminisced about what kind of a relationship they had as teammates. Kobe revealed, “In ’99, two things happened. Shaq realized this kid’s really competitive, and he’s really crazy. And I realized that I had a couple of screws loose because we got in a fist fight, and I was willing to get into a fist fight with this man.”

While O’Neal is one of the most intimidating players ever, Kobe never backed down from anyone. “I gotta be either the dumbest, or most courageous kid, on the face of the earth“, recalled Kobe. O’Neal concurred, “All the time. We did that all the time. That just showed me that this kid ain’t gonna back down.”

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This eventually led to them having a better understanding on the court. “And Kobe seen me punk everyone in the league! I knew then that if [our team] was down by one, I’m gonna kick it out to him and he gonna make it,” O’Neal reminisced.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal dominated the league

While they had their issues off the court, Bryant and O’Neal were a dream one-two punch. The Los Angeles Lakers won three championships in a row and O’Neal was named the Finals MVP each time. Shaq enjoyed the best years of his career with the Lakers becoming the best player in the league.

Meanwhile, Kobe was just getting started. While the spotlight was usually on Shaq, Bryant became one of the best players in the league as well. However, he took the next step in his career only after O’Neal got traded to the Miami Heat.

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The Lakers enjoyed a great spell of success, with O’Neal and Bryant leading them. Their rivalry eventually turned into a great friendship as well. There have been very few duos in league history who have been as effective as Kobe and Shaq.