CLEVELAND - It's always a treat when people mature and bury the hatchet of past feuds. It's even more gratifying when those same folks do so after a ton of success together.Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, this means you!
The two superstars played nice long enough to lead the West to a blow-out victory over the East, 146-119 in the 58th annual NBA All-Star game last night in Phoenix. When all was said and done, the former L.A. Lakers co-stars had earned co-MVP honors, Bryant scored 27 points while O'Neal was amazingly dominant and unstoppable with 17 points in just 11 minutes.
Shaq called he and Kobe "The Big Legendaries."
Cleveland's LeBron James led the East with 20 points, but the evening truly belonged to Bryant and O'Neal, two of the greatest NBA stars in history. They played together for eight seasons which produced three NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, but had an acrimonious and highly publicized feud for much of those championship years. Last night was their first game as teammates since the 2004 NBA Finals.
With 17-year veteran O'Neal in the sunset of a sterling career (he turns 37 next month), last night nearly felt like a last hurrah for him on the grandiose stage that is the NBA All-Star game. The entire evening was vintage Shaq though. During player introductions, he donned a mask and performed a dance routine with a rap group, then joked and played all game long whether on the bench or court. At one point, he tried to guard 6'1" Mo Williams, a hilarious sight given O'Neal's hulking, 7'1" 350 pound presence.
I will miss Shaq's excellent showmanship and low-post dominance when he does retire. But for one night, he and Bryant teamed up and put past disagreements aside to show the world that people are always better in tandem than as one.
Imagine that.
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