During Shaq’s statue unveiling in Los Angeles, another Lakers great in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trolled him over Kobe Bryant actually showing up
The beef between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant has been long-standing, always confusing and often unintentionally hilarious. Of course, there have been diss raps and everything in between. However, the biggest consequence was clearly the breaking up of the Shaq-Kobe Los Angeles Lakers that could’ve owned the league for a decade.
Regardless, both Shaq and Kobe are forever etched in the rich history of the Lakers organization. Subsequently, the former was announced to be getting a statue outside of Staples Center last year. On Friday evening, they unveiled that statue in Los Angeles with a ceremony that brought out plenty of stars, including many former Lakers greats.
Among the greats were another fellow big man in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem spoke about Shaq and made sure to have some fun with the big fella throughout. Of course, that included bringing up his ill-fated acting career and Kazaam, but it also involved trolling him just a bit over another former Laker actually showing up, much less being on stage to speak: Kobe Bryant, of course. Jabbar made it a double burn when comparing it to Shaq’s poor free throw shooting as well:
In possibly the kindest way possible, Kareem absolutely ethered Shaq right there. Knowing O’Neil as well as we do, it’s surprising he didn’t get up and try to fire back.
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Yeah, he and Kobe may not have always gotten along. And Shaq is always an easy target for jokes. However, his time with the Lakers is one of the more unforgettable runs in NBA history. Thus, he’s wholly deserving of the honor he received on Friday.