Shaquille O’Neal opened up about the three major regrets that he has, one of them being his relationship with Kobe Bryant, during his appearance on “The Pivot Podcast.”
Shaquille O’Neal is a Basketball Hall of Famer and part of the entertaining Inside the NBA program on TNT. But recently, O’Neal opened up to talk about the regrets he has had in his life.
O’Neal appeared on “The Pivot Podcast,” hosted by former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder. During the interview, O’Neal said that one major regret he had was “just because things you do make it seem like you’re perfect, you’re not perfect.” He cited that as a big mistake in his relationship with Kobe Bryant.
You can listen to O’Neal’s full appearance on “The Pivot Podcast” at this link.
Shaquille O’Neal opens up about his regrets over relationship with Kobe Bryant
O’Neal spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Orlando Magic — where he also expressed regret over the handling of his relationship with Anfernee Hardaway — before entering free agency and signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. From there, the duo of O’Neal and Bryant became the NBA’s dynamic duo, and they won the NBA Championship in three straight seasons (2000-02).
Yet, there were times that the two clashed while on the Lakers. O’Neal was ultimately traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, while Bryant remained with the Lakers. The two did reconcile over the years and held public conversations with one another.
On Jan. 26, 2020, Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others passed away in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif.
During an interview with Mark Medina of USA Today in 2020 on what would have been Bryant’s 42nd birthday, O’Neal said he had things that what hurts him the most is that he had things he wanted to tell him but he never did.
O’Neal talked about a variety of other topics during his interview on “The Pivot Podcast,” which you can listen to at the link above.