“I would’ve had f**king 12 rings” – Kobe Bryant once grilled Shaquille O'Neal for being slacker & out of shape

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant formed one of the best duos in NBA history in the early 2000s. The superstar duo of the LA Lakers played in three straight NBA finals, winning them all (2000-2002).

However, their partnership didn't last long, as O'Neal left after the loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 finals to join the Miami Heat and win another title (2006).

Bryant and O'Neal didn't see eye-to-eye, and their relationship was intense during the eight years they spent together (1996-2004). O'Neal wanted Bryant to play more unselfish basketball, while Bryant believed the big man should have worked more on his game.

"I wish he was in the gym. I would’ve had f***ing 12 rings," Bryant said. "My God, yeah. Wouldn’t even be close," Kobe Bryant said during an interview with Valuetainment founder Patrick Bet-David in 2019, via New York Post.

"He’d be the greatest of all time. He’d be the first to tell you that, for sure. This guy was a force like I have never seen. It was crazy. Generally guys at that size are a little timid and they don’t want to be tall, they don’t want to be big. Man, this dude, he did not care. He was mean, he was nasty, he was competitive, he was vindictive."

For his part, Shaquille O'Neal had found a way to co-exist with Bryant, and was expecting the Lakers to re-sign him in 2004. But, the Lakers decided to invest solely in Bryant and that's when the four-time champion decided to leave.

Kobe Bryant revealed he should have tried to convince Shaquille O'Neal to stay in 2004

Years after their partnership in the Lakers came to an end, the two legends attempted to put their differences aside and end their beef. Kobe Bryant had a lot of respect for Shaquille O'Neal, and vice versa, but they struggled to co-exist on the floor.

Bryant, however, later said that if he had the chance to re-do things, he would have put his ego and differences aside to convince O'Neal to stay.

"If I had a do-over, I think I would take more of a leadership role in talking to Shaq. Earlier, before things got south," Bryant told Ernie Jonson of Inside the NBA, via Harrison Feigen of SB Nation.

Shaquille O'Neal finished his career as a four-time NBA champion (2000-2002, 2006), three-time Finals MVP (2000-2002) and the 2000 NBA MVP.

Kobe Bryant became champion five times (2000-2002, 2009-2010) and Finals MVP twice (2009, 2010), while claiming the 2008 NBA MVP award in 2008.

To honor Bryant after his death in January 2020, the league decided to name the All-Star Game MVP award after him. Kobe was also an 18-time All-Star.