3. Shaquille O’Neal
We may never see a player with the size and athleticism of “The Diesel.” O’Neal began dominating the league from the moment he set foot on an NBA court and shed the criticism of not winning a championship by collecting four rings in the past decade. Shaq went to the NBA Finals with three different teams, and was nearly the first and only unanimous MVP in 1999-2000 if not for sportswriter Fred Hickman. Reuters

It did not take long for Shaquille O'Neal to respond to Kobe Bryant's comments about him. Now it appears the feud is on again between the two future NBA Hall of Famers after The Diesel took exception to being called lazy.

In a recent post, Kobe Bryant touched on the number of NBA titles he could have won with the Los Angeles Lakers. The official count of rings for the Black Mamba is pegged at five, all with the purple and gold. On the other hand, O'Neal won three with the Lakers and one with the Miami Heat.

It was also mentioned there how Bryant felt that he and Shaq could have won as much as 12 titles if O'Neal showed the same work ethic he had during their time. But from the way the 41-year-old said it, it appears it was something both of them talked about often when they see each other and a bit of pun intended. Unfortunately, that was not the case for O'Neal who took a swipe at Bryant and called him a ball hog, TMZ Sports reported.

"U woulda had twelve [rings] if u passed the ball more especially in the finals against the pistons #facts," said the three-time NBA Finals MVP.

Worse, the 2000 NBA MVP used his statue for leverage. "You don't get statues by not working hard," he said.

O'Neal seems to be referring to that NBA Finals when they fell to the Detroit Pistons. This was in 2004 where the Lakers were primed to win a title. The reason for this is that Kobe and Shaq had plenty of help with Karl Malone and Gary Payton recruited that year. Unfortunately, injuries to Bryant, O'Neal, and Malone got in the way and this proved pivotal for the Lakers title drive that year.

As far as the feud between the two, it will be interesting if this exchange will spark another one. While most saw that rift balloon during the 2003-04 season, Bryant said that signs of the impending feud actually showed way back in 1996 - the rookie year of Kobe and the first year of O'Neal with the Lakers, AZ Central reported.

Both are no longer active and O'Neal has been known to act impulsively. It remains to be seen if Bryant will respond to Shaq's reaction.

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