“F**k off” – Shaquille O’Neal WARNED not to mess with Kobe Bryant by Lakers owner Jerry Buss in rookie year, reveals Gilbert Arenas

Shaq and Kobe didn't see eye-to-eye on many occasions but still won 3 championships together.

“F**k off” – Shaquille O’Neal WARNED not to mess with Kobe Bryant by Lakers owner Jerry Buss in rookie year, reveals Gilbert Arenas

Shaq and Kobe were arguably the greatest duo of all-time (Image Via Victoria Arocho/ AP)

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas made an appearance on VladTV recently and was asked about where he thought Kyrie Irving would end up in the free agency. This was before Irving re-signed with the Mavericks. He said it would either be the Mavericks or the Lakers. He then went on to praise Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks. Arenas then compared Cuban to Jerry Buss, former majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.

When Kobe got drafted, Jerry Buss told Shaq and the Lakers 'He's off limits, you cannot haze him. There's no rookie-hazing him, F*** off!'
Gilbert Arenas reveled

Buss purchased the Lakers back in 1979 and if there’s one thing that he prioritized, it was taking care of his superstars. He passed on the same advice to his children and also told them to give into superstars’ desires, even if politics got in the way of things.

Shaquille O’Neal in his book ‘Shaq Uncut’ wrote about how Buss would constantly be in the ear of then-head coach Del Harris (1994-1999) to give Bryant more minutes even if Bryant wasn’t playing at his best. It was his way of ensuring that Bryant got as much experience as possible and that the team had his back at all times. Shaq eventually moved on from the Lakers in 2004 after Buss decided to keep Bryant on the Lakers instead of him.

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Former Laker Brian Shaw said that what rubbed Buss the wrong way was how Shaq demanded more money at every opportunity that he got. Back in 2003, during a pre-season game against the Golden State Warriors, Shaq dunked on Eric Dan Pierre and looked in the direction of Jerry Buss and said “You better pay me” which didn’t go down well with Buss. Shaq’s then-ongoing feud with Bryant only added fuel to the fire, and he was eventually traded to the Miami Heat.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had a major beef as teammates

Shaq and Kobe played 8 seasons together with the Los Angeles Lakers and won three championships together (2000, 2001, and 2002). Despite winning on the court, the two had major personal differences and arguments off the court. Phil Jackson even wrote a book titled “The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul” in which Kobe and Shaq’s feud during their last season together was brought to the fore.

Kobe and Shaq
Kobe and Shaq (via Imago)

If O’Neal and Bryant had settled their differences and decided to focus on winning more championships, they definitely would have. Instead, Shaq was traded to the Heat and won a championship in 2006 and Bryant won back-to-back titles with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

After their playing careers were over, Kobe and Shaq sat down face-to-face in an interview and addressed the beef and had a good laugh over it.

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