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Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were a lethal combo in the NBA during their time with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, they also had one of the biggest basketball beefs ever reported.
Back in the 2000-01 season, the Lakers were coming in as defending champions after beating the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. The team added shooting guard Isaiah Rider to add more depth and he immediately knew that there is something going on with Shaq and Kobe.
In just the first days of Rider as a Laker, Shaq already gave him a challenge that if he gets into a fight with Kobe, he would give him $10,000. Rider discussed the situation on the "All The Smoke" podcast in 2020:
"When I first get to the Lakers, Shaq tells me, 'if you and Kobe get into it, it's 10 G's in the locker.' This is three days into practice."
Just being new to the team, the thought of the consequences that would have come with it was enough for Rider:
"I'm like, 'Man, these boys are crazy, bro.' But this is my thing: I would've been off that team so fast if I laid a hand on that man."
In his time with the Lakers, Rider was able to help the team capture its second championship in the Kobe-Shaq era. The high-flying guard averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 67 games.
WATCH: JR Rider reflects on his NBA career on All The Smoke
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant patched it up
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant went back and forth trying to outdo each other on and off of the basketball court. With both players retired from the league, Shaq apologized on TNT before the 2018 All-Star Weekend:
"I realized that I've messed something up because a lot of times that our beef was going on, you know me, I'm the master marketer but six percent of the time, I was just saying just to keep it going.
"Luckily, I won three out of four with this guy. I owe you an apology."
Kobe Bryant finished his career with the Los Angeles Lakers winning five championships, while Shaquille O'Neal had four, one of them with the Miami Heat.
