Lakers News: Shaquille O'Neal Reveals Motivational Tactics He Used for Kobe Bryant

Did these methods ultimately hurt their relationship?

June 12, 2002; East Rutherford, NJ; The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant holds up the Larry O'Brien championship trophy along with teammate Shaquille O'Neal who holds up his third MVP trophy. Mandatory Credit: Michael J. Terola/Abury Park Press-USA TODAY NETWORK / Asbury Park Ppress-USA TODAY NETWORK

Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal, one of the greatest players in Los Angeles Lakers history (which is saying quite a lot), recently divulged his unorthodox method for motivating his L.A. sidekick, late Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

On a fresh episode of "The OGs," a podcast hosted by O'Neal's former title-winning Heat power forward co-star Udonis Haslem and Udonis' eventual title-winning Miami swingman co-star Mike Miller, the 7-foot-1 big man revealed that he had some unique motivational tactics he would employ to galvanize Bryant.

Ultimately, O'Neal methods boiled down to dissing Bryant.

“I used to say things to make him mad on purpose because I knew that’s when he’d play his best,” O’Neal shared. “I’d tell him things like, ‘You’re not Michael Jordan,’ or, ‘They got this kid LeBron [James] in Cleveland who’s better than you.’"

Did that treatment contribute to their eventual acrimonious split in the summer of 2004, when L.A. ownership ultimately opted to stick with the younger member of its superstar duo and jettisoned O'Neal to the Miami Heat in a blockbuster trade.

O'Neal would eventually go on to play alongside James, a hair before James' prime and long after O'Neal's, for the final season of James' first stint in Cleveland, 2009-10.

Bryant long compared himself to his mentor Jordan, and hoped to tie or match his championship tally of six titles. He stalled out at five, still a respectable total. Both O'Neal and Bryant would finish their careers as two of the best players in NBA history.

Across a 19-year career, O'Neal appeared in 1,207 regular season games (starting all but ten of those games). The LSU product averaged 23.7 points on 58.2 percent field goal shooting, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 blocks and 0.6 steals a night. He was a 15-time All-Star, 14-time All-NBA honoree, four-time champion (three with Bryant and Los Angeles), three-time All-Defensive Second Teamer, three-time Finals MVP, and one-time league MVP.

Bryant, across his own 20-year Hall of Fame career, was similarly decorated. In 1,346 regular season bouts (1,198 starts), Bryant averaged 25.0 points on .447/.329/.837 shooting splits, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks a game. The 6-foot-6 swingman was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA honoree, a 12-time All-Defensive Teamer, a five-time NBA champion (three with Bryant, all five with Los Angeles), a two-time Finals MVP, and a one-time NBA MVP.

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