NBA: Shaquille O'Neal Never Cared About What Kobe Bryant Got From Lakers

Shaq scores 28,596 points, announces retirement (Photos) — Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (24) and Phoenix Suns' Shaquille O'Neal fight for a rebound during their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles in this February 26, 2009 file photo. Bryant won three successive titles with the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of the decade, with the indomitable O?Neal patrolling the paint. He finally won his fourth - and first without O?Neal - last season. O?Neal, let go by the Lakers in 2004 during a feud with Kobe, won his first without Bryant two years later as a member of the Miami Heat. Each player won the league?s MVP title once. Picture taken February 26, 2009. Reuters

Shaquille O’Neal never really cared about how the Lakers treated his former co-star Kobe Bryant.

Shaq and Kobe were once indestructible inside the basketball court during their glory days with the Lakers. However, O’Neal already revealed that outside the court, the Lakers didn’t have the chemistry which other NBA teams claim to have.

And speaking of chemistry, O’Neal never denied that he and Bryant were never really “close” as friends. In fact, O’Neal even revealed that he never cared about the special treatment Bryant gets from the Lakers back then.

In his exclusive interview with “ Fair Game,” O’Neal stated that he wasn’t aware about how Bryant’s legacy compares to his.

According to the 3-time NBA Finals MVP, he and Bryant were treated differently by the organization compared to other teammates but he was never bothered of Bryant’s perks as his Laker co-star.

“No, never. Me and him had extra powers,” O’Neal responded when asked if they were treated equally by Lakers organization back then.

After revealing that he and Bryant had “extra powers” in LA, O’Neal was asked to recall if there was an instance where Bryant got more than him in terms of extra stuff.

Based on O’Neal’s recollection, he’s not sure as he didn’t think about it much.

“Probably, but I guess it’s a situation where, like if we are working together, me and you, and you get extra stuff and I get extra stuff, I don’t worry about what you get,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal also pointed out that the reason why he never cared about the extras that Bryant got was because he knew that he can also get what he wanted.

“I know I can get what I want. He got to do whatever he want, I got to do whatever I want. That’s just the name of the game,” O’Neal emphasized.

A few days ago, Bryant addressed the issue about him winning three of his 5 NBA championships because of O’Neal.

According to Bryant, he and O’Neal parting ways was as important as him winning championships by his own. However, people tend to still bash him about needing O’Neal to win his first three championships.

“It was important for me and Shaq to go separate ways because I didn’t want people to use that against me — they still do — but it was important that I win championships without him,” Bryant pointed out.

“And you get a glimpse of what I could have done individually had I not played with him. See what I’m saying? So that was a big driving factor,” Bryant added.