Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal - Inside the NBA's most dynamic/dysfunctional duo's feud

#3 The Rings

The Lakers almost went without a loss in the 2001 Playoffs, losing only one game in the Finals

Adversity builds character, and both superstars in the making were going through losses on court which united them against a common foe at the end of the day. It's only when all foes were vanquished that they turned towards each other with venom.

In 1999, the Lakers signed “Zen Master” Phil Jackson to lead them to the promised land. Having coached Michael Jordan and the Bulls to six titles, Jackson had the clout to keep players under his thumb and the tact to exercise that diplomatically.

Funnily enough, Phil's method of resolving conflicts was to allow it to play out in the media. Kobe's primary beef with Shaq was that the latter was frequently out of shape, and Kobe felt that he wasn't motivated enough.

Shaq didn't like that Kobe wanted to be the ‘top dog’, and he felt that Kobe ought to defer to him more and move the ball better.

Phil didn't do as much as one would think to conciliate the two as he felt that they would only push each other to be better. One time when the reporters asked Phil about it, he dismissed it by calling both of them 'juvenile'.

He had seen it happen with the Bulls when Michael Jordan would rain down a hail storm on those who didn't compete hard enough. It is widely believed that the one-on-one competitions that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen engaged in, pushed both of them to great heights, which they otherwise wouldn't have reached.

The Lakers’ dynamic duo won three titles together, in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They defeated the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets en route to the titles.

From the outside, it seemed that the two superstars had worked out their differences and the rings were a proof of that. But tension had been mounting even as they were winning.