Jon Koncak’s contract motivated Shaquille O’Neal to focus on basketball

Shaquille O’Neal: “When I was playing with Kobe, people called him ‘Showboat.’ He came in trying to take over from day one, and we tried to slow him down. But he was relentless. Eventually, I realized, ‘Okay, I can’t slow him down, so I’ll use him.’ He was like a puppy that shows you his teeth when you spank him. That’s the kind of player I needed. I used to say things to make him mad on purpose because I knew that’s when he’d play his best. I’d tell him things like, ‘You’re not Michael Jordan,’ or ‘They got this kid LeBron in Cleveland who’s better than you.’ It wasn’t about hating him; I was motivating him. And when we won that first championship, people thought we hated each other. But look at the footage—who’s the first person I’m jumping into the arms of? Kobe.” -via YouTube / September 17, 2024