"Sacrificing my game for years": Kobe Bryant once clapped back at Shaquille O'Neal's accusation of being selfish

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had a lot of success while they were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers in the late '90s all the way to the early 2000s. It was, however, not the smoothest of rides with the two alpha superstars constantly butting heads.

One instance came in 2003 when Bryant clapped back at Shaq in an interview with ESPN when he got wind that the Hall of Fame big man saw him as not being a team player.

He dismissed the claim, saying on the contrary he had been sacrificing his game to give Shaq the space he needed to do his thing.

Bryant said:

"That's ridiculous. I have been successfully sacrificing my game for years for Shaq. That's what Phil [Jackson] wanted me to do, so I did it. Last year Phil told me Shaq was not in physical condition to carry the thrust of our offense, so he asked me to do it.

"But then he saw Shaq was getting upset that the team wasn't running through him, so Phil asked me to pull back and I did. This year is no different; my role is whatever Phil wants it to be. Period.”

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal came to the Lakers in the same year in 1996. Early on, there were already clashes between the two as they had different philosophies in getting things done.

But through all the issues, they remained committed to winning and played well together when needed. They won three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002, with Shaq winning the Finals MVP each time and Bryant providing valuable support.

Their partnership ended after they lost in the 2004 NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons when Shaq asked to be traded, believing that the Lakers then were already leaning towards Bryant moving forward.

Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat and a year later he won his fourth NBA title.

After Shaq's departure, Bryant assumed solo leadership and eventually led the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. He ended his run with the Lakers after the 2015-16 season and called it a career.

The two players maintained a cordial relationship in retirement with Shaq even speaking at the memorial for Kobe Bryant following his tragic death in 2020.

Shaquille O’Neal was crushed upon hearing of Kobe Bryant’s death

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers to three straight NBA titles.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had their famous battles when they were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. But the big fella has always respected the "Black Mamba" and considers him a friend.

So when he heard of the tragic death of Bryant in 2020, he was left crushed.

In an appearance on "The Pivot Podcast", Shaq shared how he got the unfortunate news and how he felt after.

He said:

"One day I'm sitting in the house and my son comes up crying. He said, 'Yo, man. Kobe just died in a helicopter crash.' And I was just watching the night before when LeBron passed him up. I was like, 'Y'all bullsh*tting. It's a hoax, stop it.'

"Shaunie called me crying. I said, 'Hold on, let me verify.' And I called my guy at the Sheriff's office and he said it was true. I started crying and that still haunts me."

Together, the legendary duo helped the LA Lakers to three straight titles from 2000 to 2002.