Kobe used to trick his teammates into passing to him by promising them gear
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were never exactly friends, but the turning point in their relationship has been reported to be when Bryant and O'Neal publicly disagreed over how O'Neal handled a toe injury heading into the 2002-03 season.
With the Lakers coming off three consecutive championships, O'Neal decided to rest on "company time," which really bothered Bryant. Bryant's maniacal work ethic and domineering personality with his teammates is well documented, and it annoyed him that he was viewed as the Robin to O'Neal's Batman.
To combat this perception, Bryant -- who was signed to Adidas at the time -- told his teammates that he would give them free gear if they passed him the ball more than they passed to O'Neal, according to former teammate Robert Horry (via Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News):
It worked. Bryant averaged 5.4 more field-goal attempts than O'Neal, which was the largest difference at the time (Bryant's previous high was 3.0 more than O'Neal in 2000-01).
Here's the kicker: Despite his teammates keeping up their end of the bargain, Horry said Bryant never gave them the gear he promised, and has continued to make excuses for it:
Does this actually surprise anyone?
Bryant is one of the fiercest competitors in NBA history, and would likely commit a crime against his own family to win another championship.
Lying to his teammates to get more shots up? No big deal. Light work.
However, with a lifetime supply of Nike surely awaiting him, the least Bryant could do is finally own up to his promise and thank his teammates with some free swag.
Jovan Buha covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @jovanbuha.
