For the longest time, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant didn’t like each other. Their friction caused the breakup of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won three consecutive titles to start this millennia, and they beefed over how that ended for years. But the two have publicly buried the hatchet, and with Shaq getting enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, it was the right time for Kobe to give his former teammate a big Mazel Tov on social media.
Kobe called Shaq his “big brother” and “the most dominant big of all time” in an Instagram post, calling the induction “beyond deserved.” It’s hard to argue with the sentiment, and it’s encouraging to see the two former enemies treating each other like normal old teammates — with perfunctory congratulations handed out over the internet in dashed-off posts that took 30 seconds and no thought. Welcome to normal post-retirement life, Kobe!
Though both of them won titles without the other, the careers of Shaq and Kobe will be inextricably linked to the end of time. We’re sure that when Kobe gets his own induction in five years’ time, Shaq will be there to tell embarrassing stories and provide his own platitudes. And the beat will go on.
