Los Angeles Lakers

Shaq: Kobe and I are 'most dominant one-two punch in Laker history'

Published Aug. 31, 2015 1:12 p.m. ET

foxsports

It's the stuff of dreams for NBA fans: Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe Bryant. One room. One (or possibly more) microphone(s). And one on-the-record conversation that clears the air, puts all the relevant details out there and buries the hatchet one final time between the former Los Angeles Lakers teammates.

Quotes from Bryant's appearance on O'Neal's podcast started to sneak out last week, but the full interview is now available, and it's a fun one. It starts with a number of quotes from both players in 2004 -- quotes which O'Neal promises his co-hosts he does not remember uttering. Then, before Bryant comes on, O'Neal makes one thing very clear: There was never any hate between the two, he says.

Finally, as Bryant comes on the air, O'Neal introduces him as "the greatest Laker ever," then gets down to business, reiterating the lack of hate between the two:

"I just want people to know that I don't hate you. I know you don't hate me. I call it today a 'work beef,' is what we had. I was young, you was young. But then as I look at it, we won three [titles] out of four, so I don't really think a lot was done wrong. So I just wanted to clear the air and let everybody know that, no, I don't hate you. We had a lot of disagreements, we had a lot of arguments. But I think it fueled us both."

Bryant was quick to agree, and he went a step further -- what made the disagreements between the two "special" was the fact they were saying things to each other's face. There was no (or little, anyway) whispering going on behind each other's backs. Their altercations were out in the open, for better and for worse.

Bryant went on to pay a bit of homage to O'Neal by pointing out that in his estimation, the NBA isn't the most physical basketball in the world anymore. He says that used to be the case, but now the Olympics are much more physically imposing:

"When we play in the Olympics, the physicality in the Olympics is actually -- they're more physical than the NBA is," Bryant said. "It's the silliest thing in the world. The NBA used to be the toughest, strongest league in the world, and now it's not that. And I don't know what happened to all the seven-footers. I don't know if they're just not growing anymore or what."

It was music to Shaq's ears, of course. And it helped pave the way for O'Neal's parting words to his former alpha dog that will likely spur some arguments in Laker-land:

"Kobe, I just want to say I love you brother, and I miss you. I enjoyed the times we played together, wish we could've got to seven championships, but it is what it is. We're still the most respected, the most dominant one-two punch in Laker history. I know they're going to be talking about this, yes, we are the most dominant one-two punch in Laker history. I don't care what nobody else says. And I love you brother, and I miss you, and good luck this year."

You'll definitely want to listen to the whole podcast, as O'Neal needles Bryant about the nickname his wife has for him (bay-boo"), and the two talk about the time that Bryant almost got into a fistfight with the big man.

(h/t Podcast One)