MANILA, Philippines – Future NBA Hall-of-Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the most formidable duos to ever grace the game of basketball, but with that also comes their storied rivalry and disdain for each other that ultimately divided the two and broke apart one of the greatest dynasties ever in pro sports.
But what some forget is that there were times when O’Neal and Bryant actually had mutual respect and admiration for one another - something that was very apparent after the two led the Los Angeles Lakers to their first of 3 straight NBA titles in 2000.
One person who witnessed that first hand was current Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier, who 15 years ago was working with Fox Sports and covering the finals where Los Angeles outlasted the Indiana Pacers in 6 games, with O’Neal taking home Finals MVP honors.
Frazier, who also eventually worked with ESPN, says that the NBA actually told FOX they weren’t allowed to get an interview with any Laker player following the finals win. Why?
“Kobe’s first NBA Finals, I worked for FOX Sports, and because we had a small army of, like, 8 people - ESPN had 50 people - we would sneak and get interviews whenever we could,” said Frazier, whose father was an assistant coach of then Lakers head coach Phil Jackson when Jackson was a player for the New York Knicks.
“I had a great relationship with Kobe and Shaq,” re-called Frazier, “so we’d grab them at times when we weren’t allowed to, so when they finally won the championship, the NBA was so angry at us for getting these interviews all the time that they came up and they said, ‘You are not allowed to interview Kobe and Shaq, or anybody from the Lakers. You won’t get anybody.’”
But despite the NBA’s denial, Frazier and FOX still managed to interview Bryant and O’Neal - that year’s regular season MVP as well.
“All of a sudden, the room of our door, so we’re sitting in there by ourselves, and the room to the door swings open,” said Frazier, remembering what happened after the Lakers’ title-clinching Game 6 win.
“It’s Kobe, and then Shaq, and they both come in with the trophy, they’re pouring champagne, they talk to us. They had a great conversation about how much they loved each other. It’s the first time we actually got to really meet Kobe’s future wife, Vanessa.
“She was with him in the room with us and it was just a magic moment. Kinda cemented how I always felt about him (Kobe), because at that moment, when we should have had no one, in marches Kobe Bryant.”
Frazier, who was telling the story during the global media launch of the new Nike Kobe shoes, Kobe 11, then said the most interesting part of the tale: the touching moment shared between Bryant and O’Neal.
(WATCH: Kobe Bryant on his new shoes)
“He (Shaq) put his arm around him (Kobe) and said, ‘You know, people don’t understand this is my brother, and I love him, and we have our differences, but I love him,’” said Frazier.
“At that moment, you realize how much they respected and cared about each other, and that, look, they always didn’t get along, but they respected each other and they wanted to win basketball games.”
The successful partnership eventually blew apart, punctuated following their loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals which was succeeded by O’Neal’s trade to the Miami Heat.
Both players repeatedly took shots at each other in the media while they played for Los Angeles.
Bryant was unhappy with O’Neal’s weight and injury issues. O’Neal found Bryant arrogant. The two also nearly came to blows at the Lakers’ practice facility, and multiple times in other instances.
Their rivalry is well-documented in two of Jackson’s books: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success and The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul.
In fact, there was one time where Shaq even wanted to “murder” Kobe, according to Lakers vice president of public relations John Black in this Bleacher Report article:
“Mostly it was Shaq and Kobe didn’t like each other, but it didn’t affect them on the court. They would say something about the other, on or off the record, but it didn’t become confrontational more than two or 3 times over the 8 years (they were teammates).
"When Kobe gave the statement to Jim Gray where he went off calling Shaq fat and lazy, that was one of the times. There was one really bad one, early on. Brian Shaw had to pull them apart. Shaq threatened to murder Kobe,” Black said.
Bryant and O’Neal have eventually cleared the air and even taken turns complimenting the other through the media. During the 2009 All-Star Game in Phoenix, the two were named co-game MVPs and were seen laughing together throughout the contest.
(READ: Kobe, Shaq bury hatchet over legendary feud)
Kobe even guested on Shaq’s podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq” in August this year.
"I just want people to know I don't hate you [and] I know you don't hate me," Shaq said, introducing Kobe.
Bryant later said: "We have our arguments and our disagreements. But I think having our debates within the press was something I wished would been avoided." – Rappler.com