When Shaquille O'Neal SLAPPED Kobe Bryant during a pick-up game in 1998

There is no hiding to the fact that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal did not always see eye-to-eye during their time with the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite winning a three-peat between 2000 and 2002, Bryant and O'Neal were known to be at odds during their latter years together. Kobe Bryant is also believed to be the primary reason why Big Shaq was traded to Miami Heat in 2004. While stories of Kobe and Shaq not being on speaking terms are all over the internet, not many fans know that their on-field rivalry even led to a physical altercation. 

Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty written by veteran author Jeff Pearlman details the incident that occurred during the 1998 NBA lockout when things got so heated between Shaq and Kobe that the former ended slapping Bryant during an insignificant pick-up game. Pearlman's account of the incident includes a first-hand view from former NBA veterans Olden Polynice and Corie Blount. 

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Shaq slaps Kobe during 1998 NBA lockout

During the NBA lockout, pick-up games were usually hosted by players looking to stay match fit for when the season restarts. This particular pick-up game was hosted in January 1999 at Southwest College. Polynice and Blount were both playing and the former was also looking to earn a free-agent contract from the Lakers. Polynice recalled the heated nature of the game, despite it being absolutely inconsequential to the season. Both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were throwing jibes at each other, calling each other out for every missed shot or foul. 

A series of back-and-forth banter finally resulted in a heated argument, which proved to be the penultimate blow before the actual incident. "A few possessions later, Bryant drove toward the rim, leaned into O’Neal’s body, and scooped the ball beneath his raised arm and into the hoop. It was a pretty move, but nothing otherworldly. F*** you!’ he (Kobe) screamed at O’Neal. ‘This is my team! My mother****ing team!’".

Polynice remembered Kobe yelling at Shaq, "You’re not a leader. You’re nothing!’".

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While things did not get out of hand during the heated exchange, Polynice said that Kobe teased Shaq after scoring the very next play. O'Neal exploded and ended up slapping Bryant across the face. 

As per Polynice's recollection, as mentioned in the book, "Then Shaq swung again at Kobe, but he missed. Sh*t! I run over and grab Shaq because I’m big enough to do so. And Shaq keeps swinging, but everything’s missing because I have his arms. I’m grabbing on to Shaq, holding on for dear life, yelling, ‘Somebody grab Kobe! Seriously, somebody grab him!’ Because I’m holding Shaq and Kobe’s taking swings at him. At one point Shaq gets an arm loose and he pops me in the head. Seriously, no good deed goes unpunished. And I’m telling you, if Shaq gets loose he would have killed Kobe Bryant. I am not exaggerating."

The two Lakers legends continued to take cheap shots at each other until the fight was finally stopped by O’Neal’s bodyguard and friend- Jerome Crawford. 

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Despite not enjoying the best of relationships at Lakers, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were Lakers' two key players in the early 2000s. They mended their relationship after retirement. During the 2018 episode of Players Only, Bryant admitted the fight only ended up boosting their chemistry on the court. "And then from that moment on I knew we spoke the same language."

Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, were killed earlier this year in a tragic helicopter crash near Calabasas, California. Shaquille O'Neal paid a heartfelt tribute to the Lakers legend and his daughter via social media:

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(Image Credits: Shaquille O'Neal Instagram)