Sunday's NBA all-star game may have been the last time former LA Lakers' teammates Bryant and O'Neal played in the same team
Sunday's NBA all-star game may have been the last time former LA Lakers' teammates Bryant and O'Neal played in the same team
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Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (left) and Phoenix Suns' Shaquille O'Neal playing for Western Conference, share a light moment before the start of the third quarter of the NBA All-Star game in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday. West beat East 146-119 pic/AP |
Bryant led all scorers with 27 points while O'Neal scored 17 in just 11 minutes. However, with Shaq turning 37 next month and currently playing for a struggling Phoenix Suns side, it may have just been his last hurrah as an NBA all-star, and the final time the Kobe-Shaq partnership was on view.
"The game will miss him (O'Neal). He brings showmanship, sportsmanship, laughter," said another NBA ace LeBron James, who led the East with 20 points.
All eyes were on Kobe and Shaq, who were playing on the same side for the first time since the 2004 NBA finals. O'Neal was traded to Miami that summer, breaking up a combination that won three straight titles.
Getting a bit nostalgic then was inevitable.
"It felt like a flashback... just like in '99 to '02. It felt like old times. He (Kobe) was really looking for me," O'Neal said in an interview to TNT.
What made the all-star night even more special for the duo was the fact that they shared the game's MVP award.
Known for their frequent feuding that led to their break-up and a keen rivalry post-2004, Kobe and Shaq shared a hug after the honour was announced and even playfully fought over the trophy. Kobe later let Shaq take the trophy home to his kids.
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