They patched things up later in their careers and in life, but fans of NBA history know that early on, there was quite the feud between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. Two of the biggest superstars in the game clashed over media attention, on-court attention, and lots more. A recent story shows how far it went, back in the day. Seems Shaq allegedly offered Lakers teammate Isaiah “J.R.” Rider $10,000 to get into a fight with Kobe Bryant. Interesting!
Rider – who is now long-retired from the game – talked to Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on their “All The Smoke” podcast not long ago. Rider says the offer came just a few days after he joined the Lakers.
Appearing on the podcast, the 49-year old Rider said O’Neal approached him with the highly unusual offer, saying Shaq suggested he “get into it” with Kobe, and offering ten thousand dollars if he did. All this dates back to the 2000 season, when Rider joined the Lakers as a free agent.
On the podcast, Rider said, “So when I first get to the Lakers, Shaq tells me, ‘If you and Kobe get into it, it’s 10Gs in the locker. This is three days into practice. I’m like, ‘Man, come on, you playing, man.’”
Still, it seems O’Neal was serious. He said Shaq laid out the plan and the payment. “’There’s 10Gs in $1 bills, man, if you ever get into it and handle your business, grab that,’” Rider says he remembered thinking, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “I’m like, man, these boys is crazy, bro.”
The good news is that Rider never took Shaq up on the offer and nothing ever happened. After all, he was brand new to L.A. and the Lakers. “But this is my thing: I would’ve been off the team so fast if I laid a hand on that man,” Rider said. “That’s the great one.”
Rider played a total of nine seasons in the NBA and retired in 2002. As we said, NBA historians will remember that O’Neal and Bryant feuded near the end of their time together with the Lakers, but in the years since they split they’d become close friends.
Shaq was one of the main speakers at Bryant’s memorial service earlier this year when the 41 year-old star and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash. Seven others died in that crash near Los Angeles.