Kobe Bryant Was Backed By Jerry Buss Personally According to Shaquille O’Neal
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in sports history. With nearly 76 years of history, the team has played home to some of the greats like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, and more.
Favorable location aside, there are many reasons why the Lakers are an attractive prospect for any player. One, in particular, is the way they treat their superstar players.
Just ask Shaquille O’Neal. Diesel got top-notch treatment for quite a while and then got to watch Dr. Jerry Buss do the same to Black Mamba.
Shaq once saw Lakers owner Jerry Buss give Kobe Bryant preferential treatment by forcing the coach to put him back in the game
For eight seasons, Shaquille O’Neal was the king of Los Angeles. The Lakers were his team and he was the one calling the shot on the roster. However, as time went on, even he was able to see that the power dynamic was changing, particularly in favor of Kobe Bryant.
Shaq’s first sign was, as he described it on Shaq Uncut, the moment he saw the Black Mamba receiving preferential treatment from team owner Jerry Buss. How? Well, Buss once forced then-coach Del Harris to give Kobe more playing time.
“One of Buss’s cronies would show up in the middle of the game and tap Del on the shoulder.
He would tell Del, ‘Put the kid back in the game.
‘ I never knew what the guy’s name was, but he was there, always lurking around our bench, talking to our coach while we were trying to beat San Antonio.” according to O’Neal’s autobiography Shaq no cuts.
Longtime Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss passed away today at 5:55am after a long illness. He was 80. #RIPDrBuss pic.twitter.com/WABLd1Gb
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 18, 2013
Buss really was a great owner and he changed the game of basketball. How he prioritized his superstars over anything else.
Buss’ decision to support Kobe led the Lakers to win their 15th and 16th NBA championship
Jerry Buss’ decision to endorse Kobe Bryant was the right choice. The Black Mamba is perhaps the best laker in NBA history and was instrumental in obtaining the purple and gold’s 15th and 16th NBA titles in 2009 and 2010 consecutively.
#OTD in 2010: @Lakers win their 16th NBA championship w/ an 83-79 win in Game 7 over the Celtics.
It was Kobe Bryant's fifth & final title. pic.twitter.com/52z4SJX4SL
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 17, 2017
It’s safe to say that given how things turned out, the Lakers don’t regret their decision to root for their superstars and will probably continue to do the same for years to come.
