After Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004, the Los Angeles Lakers went from a championship contender to a mediocre team that missed the playoffs the following year.
But something that was just as ugly as the Lakers’ decline was his “relationship” with Kobe Bryant.
The superstar big man spent his first season in Miami periodically throwing shade at his former teammate through the media, implying that he was a selfish ball hog and perhaps even an unsavory human being.
On Jan 16. 2006, the Lakers hosted the Heat on Dr. Martin Luther King Day in what was a marquee matchup between the two Hall of Famers.
Whether he was inspired by the former civil rights leader who preached equality and love, or whether it was a classic case of time healing old wounds, O’Neal approached Bryant before tipoff, and the two shook hands and even embraced each other.
Bryant then went out and put forth a strong performance with an efficient 37 points as L.A. overcame Miami, 100-92.
It was the first time in four attempts Bryant’s Lakers had managed to defeat O’Neal’s Heat.
With the first thaw in the supposed superstar feud taking place, Bryant would go on to lead the Lakers back to the playoffs where they nearly upset the heavily favored Phoenix Suns that spring. It was the first step in the rehabilitation of his tarnished public image and the team’s fortunes.
