Kobe Bryant: Fires Shot at Shaq, O'Neal Responds in Contradiction
In a Q&A with New York Times' Columnist Joe Brescia, Shaquille O'Neal answered an assortment of questions spanning from the NBA labor negotiations to his joining the TNT broadcast booth.
Interestingly, Shaq was asked about an apparent shot taken by Kobe Bryant as reported by Italian Basketball News provider Sportando.
"Q: Kobe Bryant reportedly criticized you when he was in Italy recently. “I like players who workout,” Bryant said, according to a post on Sportando. “I used to do that 6, 7 hours per day. I cannot stand players who practice for 30 minutes. I need to say something to them.” Any response?
A: No. I don’t need to workout. My numbers speak for itself. My three finals M.V.P.’s speaks for itself.
"
Allowing his career accomplishments to do the talking, Shaq avoided getting roped into another verbal sparring match with the Mamba.
The Diesel's dominance on the court during his career, which includes four NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVPs and a regular season MVP award, is a quick and seemingly suitable response to questions concerning his work ethic.
But, at the end of this Q&A session, by allowing his career to speak for itself, Shaq actually contradicts this very approach:
"Q: Any regrets?
A: None. But maybe the only regret I have was missing over 200 games due to injuries.
"
To Kobe's point, Shaq's work ethic was unsatisfactory. By dogging team work outs, Shaq left himself more susceptible to injury, explaining his 200+ games missed during his career.
Shaq's career numbers slice both ways.
Granted, the Diesel was acting in good faith by not taking the bait in the war of words with Kobe.
But as admitted by the man himself, Shaq may regret not working hard enough to maintain peak physical form, thereby supporting Kobe's subtle barb and ultimately validating this latest shot in the never-ending heavyweight bout between the two former teammates.
