It’s time we followed in Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s footsteps, and just let it all go.
There’s something I never thought I’d write.
After three championships worth of animosity, the Los Angeles Lakers mercifully split these two up when Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. Perhaps “mercifully” isn’t the right word, because the Lakers likely would have won more championships had they stayed together. Still, the constant rumors of their bickering and feuding was overbearing. This marriage needed to end.
Almost a decade has passed since then, and the inability for Kobe and Shaq to co-exist died down.
Until Tuesday night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIM1CuRrTQk
The Lakers hoisted Shaq’s jersey into the rafters, just like they will with Bryant’s one day. By all accounts, Kobe and O’Neal were quoted as saying the right things. There was no pent up rage or harbored resentment. There was, instead, a mutual respect.
But then Kobe was absent for O’Neal’s halftime ceremony. He wasn’t there to congratulate his former teammate. He said “thank you” in a pre-recorded video, and that was all.
Naturally, this mean the two still despised one another (via Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times):
Bryant apparently couldn’t, as he chose to record only a brief video tribute that ran on the scoreboard at the start of the ceremony. It was as if he were in Russia instead of just 45 steps away in the locker room during halftime of the Lakers’ eventual 101-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
“I would like to have been out there but I couldn’t do it, this was just too big of a game,” Bryant said afterward. “I had to stay back here [in the locker room] stretching and getting ready for the second half.
Bryant laughed and added, “I appreciate you guys trying to start some stuff for old times’ sake.”
In the interest of full discosure, Plaschke is one of the best writers out there. He often provides refreshing perspectives and leaves you feeling like you learned something. And admittedly, his is an opinion that is shared by many. It’s one that may even be correct.
But (and I mean this with the utmost of respect), who cares?
Shaq’s career is over and Kobe’s is winding down. It’s time to put this narrative to bed. So what if Kobe “blew” Shaq off? So what if they don’t split one milkshake with two straws? Does it really matter?
No, not at all.
What does matter is that they’re both saying the right things. Kobe congratulated Shaq privately and in a video tribute, and O’Neal took to Twitter to thank Kobe.
This is what I want everyone to kno thank u very muchEspecially you Kobeyoutu.be/CzUNO_CKWKE
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) April 3, 2013
Gone are the days when we need to immerse ourselves in this. Gone are the days where it even matters.
Heck, gone are the days where a legitimate hatred even exists.
I’m not saying there still aren’t unresolved issues here, but they’re nowhere near as potent, urgent or destructive as they once were. These two can finally be in the same building together, and that’s what matters more than anything.
Yes, Bryant could have taken a few minutes out of his extended halftime to come out and pat Shaq on the pack. But he didn’t. O’Neal could have thanked Kobe during his “acceptance” speech. But he didn’t.
Kobe had a game to win, a postseason dream to save, and Shaq had a momentous occasion to bask in.
Let’s not ruin the night they both had with something as trivial and irrelevant as their past transgressions.
Let’s not taint Kobe’s triple-double and Shaq’s historic night by fabricating a strife that died long ago.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
