Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeals former Lakers teammate Derek Fisher recently recalled when things started turning sour between the dynamic duo.
Kobe was outstanding during the Lakers championship run in 1999-00, but the following season he and Shaq were still sharing the spotlight.
Bryant didnt end up being the Lakers leading scorer in that 2000-01 season and Fisher says he was starting to feel under appreciated.
We won the first title in 2000, and so I think that second yearin 2000-2001, thats when it really shifted a little bit to I think Kob really felt like he was being asked to sacrifice a little too much in terms of what again, you have to remember, Kob really saw himself and ultimately became one of the G.O.A.T.s, Fisher said on Podcast P with Paul George. Right? And so none of the guys on that list were the second guy. I mean, if you really go down the list of guys that we have the G.O.A.T. conversations about, I dont know if there were many of those guys, if any, were the second guy.
And so I think in 01, Kob started to feel like, In order for me to be the G.O.A.T. that I know Im capable of accessing Im willing to put the time in. Im willig to wake up at four in the morning, no sleep, train hard, play in every game, play through injuries, do everything to become one of the greatest players of all time. Why am I being asked to do less and be less when my teammate that is capable of just as much or more greatness isnt maybe investing that much time, energy, etcetera?
And I think that was the year where it changed a little bit from healthy some of the tension the great teams do need to a little bit more like one guy is maybe standing in the way of the other. And so for the rest of us on the group, we just always made sure that both guys understood, Were not picking a side, bro.
READ MORE: Shaq Says Dwight Howard Dead to Him in Latest Chapter of Feud
