Shaquille O'Neal Calls Kobe Bryant The Top Player Of This Generation
Shaquille O'Neal said that Kobe Bryant was the player of this generation in an interview with the DangerTalk podcast with Russell Wilson and Jeff Dye.
"You know, from my generation it was Dr. J [Julius Erving] and Magic [Johnson]," O'Neal said. "But for your generation, probably [Michael] Jordan and all of those guys. But this generation, Kobe was the guy.”
O'Neal and Bryant played together on the Lakers for eight seasons from 1996-2004, winning three-straight championships from 2000-2002.
They had a contentious relationship at the time that led to O'Neal being traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, but O'Neal said things were always "respectable" and their drama never extended beyond the locker room.
"He always kept in touch with my kids," O'Neal said. "He always took care of them."
O'Neal said he knew Bryant was destined for greatness the moment the Lakers acquired him straight out of Lower Merion High in a draft-day trade from the Charlotte Hornets in 1996.
“He was a guy that wanted to be great at 17," O'Neal said. "We used to have to slow him down, but he wanted to be great right away. He wanted to take the last shots. Like I’m 17 here, I'm here, but if you want me to shoot, I’ll shoot. So, we knew he had it in him. And he did it his own way, he did it at his own pace.”
Bryant, a five-time NBA champion over his 20-season career with the Lakers, died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.
O'Neal said he regrets not talking to Bryant more in recent years, adding the last time they spoke was likely in Bryant's last game before he retired in 2016. O'Neal told Bryant to score 50 points, and Bryant responded by scoring 60 points.
When O'Neal was asked what he would've liked to say to Bryant, he said he wished they could've grown old together.
"There's a picture that somebody made of an old Kobe and an old me," O'Neal said. "I just wish that could be true. I wish that 20 years from now, I've got my gray beard and he's got his gray beard and we could just sit and talk with the grandchildren about time and all that. That's the only thing I wish."
