Kobe and Shaq open up about the very first fistfight they ever had
The NBA has had its fare share of rivalries over the years, such as the Celtics-Lakers, Bulls-Cavs and Knicks-Heat.
But perhaps the most infamous rivalry was between two players instead of two teams — and those players were actually teammates. The feud between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal has been discussed and dissected so much that it has its own Wikipedia page.
The frenemies got together recently to discuss their feud and reminisce about the good times and the bad. TNT aired a “Players Only” special in which Kobe and Shaq talked to each other about the past with no hosts or moderators.
One of the most interesting moments came when the two discussed their first actual fight. We all know about the verbal sparring between the two, but things actually turned physical during a pickup game during the 1998-99 NBA lockout.
“We were playing a pick-up game, it was during the lockout season,” said Kobe. “Southwest College, we were playing a pickup game. We were on opposite teams, and trash-talking.
“And (Shaq) kept saying ‘yeah, take that little b—-. Take that little b—-.’
“I’m looking around, ‘oh [expletive], he’s talking to me.’ I said, ‘Well hold on, ain’t going to be too many more of those ‘little [expletives].’”
Kobe says Shaq replied with a simple question: “Well what you going to to about it?”
Bryant said that’s when words turned into action.
“The next thing I knew I saw a big hand coming this way, and I remember going [the other way],” Bryant said. “And I remember throwing some lollipop s— …. and they all just kind of broke us apart.
“I’m looking at this and I’m saying ‘Man, (Shaq) wants this thing. It affects him. It consumes him.’ And then from that moment on, I knew we spoke the same language.”
Former NBA player Olden Polynice was part of that pickup game. Two years ago, he gave his account of the fight between Kobe and Shaq.
“They got into a fight. I was the one who broke it up,” Polynice said. “I had to grab Shaquille. This dude is too big for me to be holding on to. I tried to tell Kobe at the time ‘yo man, back up’ and he kept coming at him. I’m saying to myself, ‘Either he has a death wish or he doesn’t give a damn.’ After that, I said there’s something different about this kid than a lot of other people. He was not backing down from Shaquille at all.
“There were punches thrown. All the punches missed,” Polynice said laughing. “I think I caught more punches than they did. I stepped in there and Shaq grazed me and I wrapped him up and I’m holding on for dear life. Somebody ended up grabbing Kobe and that was it.”
That is the only known fistfight between between the two, but according to Polynice, neither player connected. Kobe and Shaq may have never became great friends, but they were able to coexist with one another and would win three straight NBA championships starting in 2000.
Even while winning titles, the two continued their public jabs with Kobe calling Shaq fat and Shaq calling Kobe selfish. Things seemed to calm down a bit once Shaq left the Lakers in 2004, as they chose to not even recognize each other in their first few meetings as opponents.
However in 2008, and after Kobe and the Lakers fell to the Celtics in the NBA Finals, Shaq infamously rapped, “Kobe, tell me how my a– tastes,” in a freestyle that went viral. Shaq maintained that it was all in fun and not a big deal, but Kobe responded with, “One more than Shaq” when asked what his fifth NBA championship meant to him.
When Shaq retired in 2011, it appeared to mark the end of their feud. They have been complimentary of each other while also lamenting that they only won three titles together.
Shaq appeared at Kobe’s final game in 2016 and called him “the greatest Laker ever.” Kobe then returned the favor by attending the unveiling of a Shaq statue outside the Staples Center in 2017.
They now appear to be good friends, but as Kobe indicated in the interview, they always seemed to be even better enemies.
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