At the 34-minute mark of this Players Only special with “the most dominant 1-2 punch of all-time,” Shaquille O’Neal admits he was an asshole to Kobe Bryant, apologizes, then jokes that they don’t need to start crying like Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas did on their memorable and emotional Players Only episode.
The apology was one of many great moments from this must-see special that Lakers fans have been waiting a long time to see. Here are a few of my other favorite moments from it:
- 2:00: Shaq reminding Kobe of the things an 18-year-old Kobe would say: “I’m going to be the greatest player of all-time, be better than Michael Jordan, and the Will Smith of the NBA.”
- 4:00: Kobe on being blown off by Penny Hardaway and then meeting Shaq after a Magic and Pacers playoff game in 1994.
- 6:00: Kobe talking about Shaq “annihilating” Travis Knight and “testing” teammates.
- 9:00: Kobe and Shaq discussing their first fight in practice.
- 13:00: Kobe telling Shaq, “That’s what pissed me off,” when Shaq said he would take it easy during the offseason.
- 15:30: Why their Lakers would dominate the current small ball league.
- 20:00: Kobe at his “craziest” and thinking he was going to have to fight in practice.
- 25:00: Shaq wanting to “choke the air out of Mike Kupchak.”
- 26:00: Kobe wanting to go to Chicago.
- 31:00: Kobe saying he loved Shaq’s “Kobe, how does my ass taste” rap.
- 34:00: Shaq realizing how much of an asshole he was to Kobe after Kobe told him to give the All-Star MVP trophy to his son, Shareef.
- 36:50: Shaq tearing his house up when Kobe won his 5th championship.
THE WORK BEEF DOCUMENTARY (80 MINUTES)
KOBE’S PUBLIC APOLOGY TO SHAQ
OPRAH: THE MOST DOMINANT DUO
SHAQ’S HALL OF FAME SPEECH
“Kobe Bryant, a guy that would push me and help me win three titles in a row. He would also help me get pushed off the team and traded to Miami.”
KOBE SPEAKS AT SHAQ’S STATUE CEREMONY
SHAQ REMEMBERS KOBE
SHAQ SPEAKS AT KOBE & GIANNA TRIBUTE