Shaquille O’Neal Made Fun Of Kobe Bryant For Trying To Copy Michael Jordan, Says Former Bulls Star

Any big fan of the NBA knows that Kobe Bryant only modelled his game after one player. It was none other than the GOAT, Michael Jordan. Bryant copied the NBA legend so much that Shaquille O’Neal would often make fun of him for it. He even used it as motivation against him as well. It’s something a former teammate of theirs says he saw firsthand when he was briefly with the Lakers.

Paul Shirley is a former undrafted three-year NBA veteran who played from 2002-05. During his time in the league, he played for the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and Phoenix Suns. Shirley also briefly played with the LA Lakers during a preseason while in the league. Recently, he spoke on O’Neal and Bryant’s personalities from his point of view and how they were with each other.

We all know Shaq and Kobe had some tension between them while they were playing together. They were both alphas who fought for dominance over the team in the early 2000s. It’s something both O’Neal and Bryant have acknowledged since retiring.

However, Shirley also revealed that Shaq would make fun of Kobe during training camp.

“What I saw from Kobe Bryant in training camp, and Shaquille O’Neal would talk about this a lot, that Kobe didn’t really have his own personality. So, Shaq would make fun of him and behind his back say, ‘Hey, look at baby Mike out there.’ Because Kobe Bryant was aping Michael Jordan,” Shirley said on Fearless with Jason Whitlock.

Not only that, but Paul later shared that the lack of a true personality from Bryant scared him.

“I thought at the time Kobe Bryant was probably a true sociopath. Like, he doesn’t have real emotions. And that was frightening to me,” he added.

Kobe always did want to emulate Jordan during his career. He would ask him for advice, as he did at the 1998 All-Star Game. In an iconic photo of the two legends standing beside each other, Jordan would tell the young Bryant to “stay aggressive.” The small comment seemingly influenced The Mamba’s play style for the rest of his career.

MJ even once said Kobe copies all of his moves.

“I don’t think I’d lose,” Jordan said after listing who he’d play in a one-on-one game post-retirement. “Other than Kobe Bryant because he steals all of my moves.”

Furthermore, in 2017, Bryant fully admitted to copying Jordan, “Damn near 100 percent of the technique.”

All in all, making fun of Kobe was very on brand for O’Neal and their relationship at the time. He and everyone else knew that he was emulating Jordan whenever he played. However, nobody questioned it because he emulated MJ to perfection and put together a GOAT-like career in his own right. It just didn’t stop Shaq and his teammates from poking Bryant about it from time to time. 

O’Neal would even use the MJ comparisons to fuel Kobe. “You’re not Michael Jordan. They got this kid LeBron in Cleveland who’s better than you,” Shaq used to tell Bryant for motivation.

They may have had their differences at the time, but nobody could get the best out of Kobe like Shaq, and in the end, that’s why the duo was able to win three titles together.