How Shaquille O'Neal Winning A Title With Miami Heat Motivated Kobe Bryant

It was said Kobe Bryant was the ultimate competitor.

He had similar drive as Michael Jordan, meaning he always wanted to best the competition. No story displays that more than when he explained how important it was to win more championships than former teammate Shaquille O'Neal.

Bryant detailed it in a 1-on-1 interview with O'Neal during an episode of TNT's "Players Only" in 2018. It was two years before Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash.

O'Neal asked, "After we split apart, were you trying to get more championships than me?

Bryant: "Oh, yeah. Absolutely."

The duo won three straight championships with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-02 before splitting in the summer of 2004. That was when O'Neal was traded to the Heat, where he won his fourth title alongside Dwyane Wade in 2006.

"I knew you were going to get one because of the energy," Bryant said to O'Neal in the interview. "Going into Miami and D-Wade and everything was there. I knew you were going to get that one. So I knew I was going to have to get at least two or three."

Trailing 4-3 in the rings race more than motivated Bryant. He said it created a stronger challenge.

"I wanted you to get that because I needed that. I wanted that," Bryant said. "I wanted people to say, `See, see this is what they're missing here. This is what they gave up for. Kobe should've been the one to go.' Like, I needed that. I wanted that. I wanted everybody to hate me. I wanted to fuel off of that and just come back with so much anger and so much vengeance."'

Bryant tied O'Neal after leading the Lakers past the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Finals. Like the competitor he is, it wasn't enough for Bryant.

"Right after we won, I went out to the track and I ran. I did my conditioning. I did my drills. I hit my weights. I did my thousand shots. I did everything humanly possible to get myself ready [to win another championship]. I needed it."

Bryant eventually passed O'Neal by winning his fifth championship, defeating the Boston Celtics in 2010. And the Heat had a huge say in it.