NBA: Shaq vs Kobe....Whats the Deal???

"I’m better than you," shouts player number one. "Yeah...well, I was dominating this game when you were in fifth grade," the other player bellows back. "Well...I, I’m better at making free throws than you are," says player one. I think you can see where this is going.

Two of the best, if not THE best basketball players in the game today, have been waging a war with each other through the media for several weeks now. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers are both superstars, in the public eye as well as in their own eyes. However, what makes this type of bickering so unsettling, is that they share the same jersey, and the same goal.....or do they??

There has been no hiding the friction between Shaq and Kobe the last several years. Since signing with the Lakers back in the summer of 1996, O’Neal, 30, was seen as the saving grace for a team that had fallen off the map in the basketball world. However, it took five full seasons for "Diesel" to finally help deliver the Lakers another championship banner.

There is no denying his impact as he’s steadily improved his all-around game (free throws notwithstanding) to the point of being arguably the best center in the league. Last season, Shaq won both the regular season and Finals MVP awards, as he led the league in scoring at a career high 29.7 clip. Add that to his 13.4 rebounds and 3 block per game averages, and you have arguably the most dominating center since Wilt Chamberlain.

However, O’Neal needed help to drive the Lakers to their championship. No matter what anyone says, one player does not a team make. Jordan had Pippen, Bird had Parrish, Magic had Kareem, and Shaq has Bryant. Kobe, originally drafted in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Lakers for the immortal Vlade Divac (!) has emerged as a possible heir to Michael Jordan in the eyes of many. Though it has taken him several years, Bryant, all of 22 years old, is becoming the "go-to" guy in Los Angeles, averaging 29.4 points per game (second only to Jerry Stackhouse of Detroit) and has shown that he can take over a game much like his teammate, Shaq.

Therein lies the problem, at least in the eyes of these two athletes. With little controversy occurring in LA during the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers steamrolled to a 67-15 regular season record, survived a scare against Portland in the Western Conference Finals, and dispatched the Indiana Pacers in six games for LA’s first championship since the 1987-88 season.

Things were great in La-La Land....and while the Lakers haven’t played as well this season (comparably), they are tied with the Utah Jazz for the fourth best record in the league at 26-14, sitting three games behind Pacific Division leader Portland. However, the inconsistent play of the team and the tension between Shaq and Kobe reached a boiling point earlier this month, when in an interview with ESPN Magazine, Bryant poured gasoline over the fire.

When asked about being told to tone down his game, Bryant said things like, "Turn my game down? I need to turn it up! I’ve improved." Asked about Shaq being the "go to" guy on the Lakers, Bryant responded, "If Shaq were a 70% free throw shooter, it would make things so much easier....I trust the team, I just trust myself more." It’s these types of quotes which have caused a stir between the young guard and the mammoth center.

Both players have reportedly asked for trades, but most believe those were angry responses to a situation that has been building for several years. Shaq is signed through the 2006 season, having just signed a three-year $88.4 million extension in October. Bryant is under contract for the foreseeable future as well, so the marriage is almost certainly to continue.

All of this bickering between these two "grown men" begs the question, will athletes EVER be satisfied? You hear players talk today how they sign contracts with top-notch teams so they can achieve the ultimate prize....winning a championship. Fine...that’s wonderful to hear, except the money being thrown around makes it impossible to totally believe them.

Professional athletes have egos larger than anyone in any other profession, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong on this point. Tense relationships are nothing new in the world of sports as there are ALWAYS stories of teammates fighting or coaches who don’t see eye-to-eye with their players. Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees of the late ‘70’s come to mind. Rob Dibble and Lou Pinella wrestling in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse in 1990. However, these teams still won championships, and winning usually kills all evils.

What is unique about this situation is that the Lakers are still a good bet to advance the NBA Finals come June, but the players that need to take them there are carrying on like children. Who’s to blame in this scenario? Both of them have acted juvenile, taking shots at each other through the media instead of facing each other in person and smoothing things over.

Players most likely don’t care what the "normal Joe" thinks of them in the grand scheme of things, but feuds such as this come as no surprise to me anymore. Maybe the best thing is to come CLOSE to winning a championship instead of actually succeeding for some players, because that will always keep their drive to achieve that greatness intact. By winning it all last year, O’Neal and Bryant now seem to be playing for selfish reasons. Who takes the most shots? Who gets the ball in crunch time? Why are you not calling my play?

Shaq and Kobe should take a step back and see how their fighting is affecting the other members of the team. Already having been criticized by head coach Phil Jackson and another man who knew how to win with class, Magic Johnson, the feud has reached a lull for the time being. However, if the Lakers don’t win a championship this season, you can bet that the bickering will start up again. Who’s to blame.....the more important question is becoming....WHO CARES??