Shaquille O’Neal regrets HIS EGO costing Kobe Bryant and Lakers four NBA titles, wishes he retired in LA

Shaquille O'Neal opens up about leaving the Lakers and feud with the late Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O’Neal regrets HIS EGO costing Kobe Bryant and Lakers four NBA titles, wishes he retired in LA

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant (Images Via Twitter)

Two years back, in an interview on Showtime’s “All The Smoke,” NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal opened up about the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. O’Neal, who formed one of the most dominant superstar duos with Kobe Bryant, expressed regret over the breakup and wondered what could have been if he had stayed with the Lakers.

The breakup of the formidable Bryant-O’Neal partnership has long puzzled fans of the franchise. The 2004 NBA Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons was upsetting for the Lakers organization, resulting in the departure of then-head coach Phil Jackson and rumours of a falling-out between Bryant and O’Neal. The centre then asked for a trade and eventually signed with the Miami Heat, where he went on to win another NBA championship in 2006.

YouTube video

Reflecting on his decision, Shaquille O’Neal admitted that the circumstances surrounding his departure still trouble him. He stated, “I got money, I had money. I just should have been like ‘All right, I raised you enough. It’s your team now.’ I know what I’m gonna do. I’m still gonna do my 28 [points] and 10 [rebounds]. But I was like, ‘Nah, I want 150 [million dollars].”

FS Video

He added: “If I had to do it all over again, probably would have had a meeting with the [Buss] family. ‘What y’all wanna do? Want me to take less money, take a lesser role, stay here or you still want me to be Shaq?’ See, it’s that ego. The ego still got me what I wanted. I still went to Miami, Pat [Riley] took care of me and I still won one. But I would’ve liked to have stayed there for the rest of my career.”

O’Neal believes that had he stayed with the Lakers, he and Bryant could have achieved even greater success. He expressed his confidence that they could have won a total of seven championships together, surpassing their initial three-peat from 2000 to 2003.

Related: “Worst day of my life” – How Shaquille O’Neal’s career CHANGED by six-time MVP’s BRUTAL DISS

Shaquille O’Neal regrets feud with Kobe Bryant

IMG COM 20230713 0034 00 87411
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in 2017 (Harry How/Getty Images)

Last year in a heartfelt interview with People magazine, basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal expressed deep regret over the prolonged feud he had with his former teammate Kobe Bryant, which ruined their time together on the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite their remarkable success on the court, a “juvenile” dispute led to the downfall of the iconic Kobe and Shaq Lakers in 2004.

“You put off [getting in touch],” O’Neal said. “I’ll never get to see Kobe again, in real life, forever. And I just should have called. He should have called. We both should have called. But he’s working, I’m working, so it’s ‘I’ll see you when I see you.”

O’Neal acknowledged that both he and Bryant should have made the effort to reconnect sooner, especially as they grew older. However, the tragic helicopter crash in 2020, claiming the lives of Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others, shattered any possibility of a reunion.

In case you missed it: