The Los Angeles Lakers are the proud owner of 16 NBA titles, each championship anchored on different basketball stars. One of the dynamic duos ever to don the purple and gold were Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Both are famous for their feuding although that all came out into the open after three-straight titles.

Bryant and O'Neal were the main reasons why the Lakers won the NBA title from 2000-2002. Both were the main pieces of the team at the time and most felt that the purple and gold would have reigned longer. The Black Mamba believes that he would have more NBA rings if only The Diesel had the same work ethic as he had, TMZ reported.

”He’s be the greatest of all time,” Bryant said. “He’d be the first to tell you that!”

”I wish he was in the gym! I would’ve had 12 f-----g rings!” he continued.

Bryant made these comments during an interview at the PHP Agency Convention in Las Vegas. As far as his words are concerned, these are things that he and O'Neal have occasionally talked about. Hence, there is no backbiting anywhere here which some outlets may use to create sugar-coated issues.

As most know by now, Bryant ended up with five rings while O'Neal had four. The fact that Kobe was getting accurate by saying they could have won 12 titles together is interesting. It is possible Bryant was referring to the two botched NBA season after their three-peat and perhaps the scenario had things not fallen apart between them. That could have resulted in more titles for the Lakers had O'Neal stayed longer. Seeing how injuries started to slow down The Diesel, racking up 12 rings seems a bit farfetched.

NBA titles aside, there is no question that both will go down in Lakers history as one of the successful duos ever to lead the franchise. They are now relegated to analysts and spectators with Los Angeles now trying to recall their winning ways.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the new guys at the helm and the coming NBA season looks bright. They do have a vastly improved roster right now and seem to have all bases covered. The last addition was Dwight Howard, ironically someone who turned his back on Kobe and the Lakers back in 2013.

Like most, expect Bryant to keep close watch on how the flailing big man performs this 2019-20 season. O'Neal, another former Laker who has had his issues with Howard, hardly cares about the return. Much of that was reported in a previous post.

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O'Neal (L) reacts to his former players seated in the audience with Kobe Bryant looking on during unveiling of his statue at Staples Center, in Los Angeles, March 24, 2017. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES
Basketball NBA