The contradiction is as follows:

One long night, the time was set to the noisy and story-filled February of 2004. The Lakers just defeated the Suns at the America West Center in Phoenix, 104-92, extending their winning streak to four games.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were surrounded by reporters and cameras respectively. The media were so eager to dig up news that both stars were forced to retreat to the gray locker room. A corner. Finally, one after another, the two players answered all the questions and walked slowly along the dim passage to the parking lot, where their teammates were waiting for them on the bus.

The fans showed up, leaning against the metal fence, shouting:

"Kobe! Kobe!"

"Shaq, hey, Shaq !”

Kobe stopped and began to sign an autograph for a little girl wearing a Lakers jersey No. 8. O'Neal walked in front of Kobe, and he stopped, grabbed the poster handed by the fan, and quickly scrawled his name. Kobe slowly walked in front of O'Neal. He agreed to a VIP guest's request for a photo and posed for the camera. O'Neal surpassed Kobe again. He bent down and whispered some words of encouragement to a boy in a wheelchair.

From beginning to end, Kobe and O'Neal did not look at each other. There was no exchange of eyes, no considerate smile - it was like they were on their own journeys, they were walking on two parallel lines, but there was no intersection. The same thing happened at the arenas in Houston and Atlanta, and in the hotel lobbies of Boston and New York. Teammates and staff insist the two stars speak privately, joking and laughing like old friends. However, over the past eight years, there has never been a true friendship between Kobe and O'Neal.

Kobe and O'Neal will never think of having dinner together during away games. There is always a distance between them, just like in the home team's locker room at Staples Center, Kobe's wardrobe and O'Neal's. The wardrobes are at opposite ends of the right angle; they may be staring at the championship ring at the same time, but their eyes never rest on each other's faces, not even for a moment.

If it were not for Phil Jackson, perhaps there would be no "OK" combination of the past. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal both want to prove they can live without each other, and now is the perfect time for them to prove it. Before the "Christmas dinner" started, Kobe apologized to O'Neal, hoping that the latter could forgive him for his remarks last season about O'Neal spending money to play with women. This seems to be a compromise between Kobe and O'Neal, but many media believe that this is a provocation by Kobe. Kobe hopes to defeat the Heat led by O'Neal at Staples' home court; at the same time, O'Neal also hopes to win a victory when he returns to his former home court for the first time.

The fundamental conflict between Kobe and O'Neal is that they both want to be the core player of the Lakers, but Phil Jackson gave the core to O'Neal. The "Zen Master" hopes that the Lakers can play a triangle offense and O'Neal will serve as the main force inside. , every offense of the Lakers is best handed to O'Neal first. But Kobe doesn't like this, he would rather end the offense himself. Therefore, there was a conflict between Kobe and O'Neal. From the perspective of competitive sports itself, both players are not wrong. Everyone hopes that their team can win the game; but from the perspective of team interests, it is obvious that Kobe pays more attention to personal interests than collective interests.

Kobe once said: "O'Neal and I are not good friends, just teammates." Indeed, there were no sparks between Kobe and O'Neal, but it should be admitted that the "OK combination" has its own characteristics. O'Neal is dominant inside, but without Kobe's support and breakthrough on the outside, it would be difficult for the Lakers to win the game. In the first few years of the relationship, O'Neal and Kobe had a relatively harmonious relationship. But with the arrival of the Triple Crown, the Lakers players lost themselves. This summer, Kobe Bryant, who ended his sex scandal lawsuit, successfully renewed his contract with the Lakers for more than $100 million; this also forced O'Neal to leave Los Angeles.

The feud between O'Neal and Kobe is far from over. For them, it is just a new beginning. Everyone wants their team to win the game, and Kobe and O'Neal are no exception.