Kobe Bryant says he has "no beef" with Shaquille O'Neal after comments came to light that Bryant thought he could have won 12 NBA titles if the dominant big man had Bryant's legendary work ethic.
Bryant tweeted Wednesday that their old feud remains in the past and there's "nothin but love" between him and his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate.
There is no beef with @SHAQ I know most media want to see it but it ain't gonna happen. Ain't nothin but love there and we too old to beef anyway #3peat
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 28, 2019
The duo who won three consecutive championships together were trending after a quote that Bryant made during an appearance at the PHP Agency convention in Las Vegas surfaced this week. On July 29, Bryant said he could have had "f---ing 12 rings" and that O'Neal would be "the greatest" had he spent more time in the gym.
"He'd be the greatest of all time, for sure," Bryant said. "He'd be the first to tell you that. This guy was a force like I have never seen. It was crazy. A guy at that size, generally guys at that size are a little timid and they don't want to be tall, they don't want to be big.
"Man, this dude was, he did not care. He was mean. He was nasty. He was competitive. He was vindictive. He was ... yeah, I wish he was in the gym. I would have had f---ing 12 rings."
When the video was posted by lakers24ever on Instagram, O'Neal chimed in twice.
"U woulda had twelve if you passed the ball more especially in the finals against the pistons #facts," O'Neal commented.
O'Neal added: "You don't get statues by not working hard"
But Bryant tweeted his clarifying remark and also retweeted a comment noting that he was complimentary of O'Neal throughout his appearance.
Bryant and O'Neal won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002 and played together from 1996 to 2004 before O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. Bryant wound up with five titles before retiring after the 2015-16 season.
O'Neal also chimed in on Twitter, though he inserted Dwight Howard into the situation and poked the former and newly signed Lakers center.
It's all good bro, when I saw the interview, I thought you were talking about Dwite, is that how u spell his name lol
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) August 28, 2019
