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The "Shaq-Kobe beef" has become kind of a meme, just a flat cultural reference point. How to Make a Basket: Shaq vs. Kobe endeavors to go deeper than that, to figure out why and how these two legendary partners didn't get along, and how they achieved such greatness in spite of that.
Part 1 begins in 1996, when both Shaq and Kobe became Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq wanted a sidekick. A little brother. Kobe, even as a teenager, was laser-focused on making the Lakers his team. They found success, but first they fought.
Part 2 begins in 2000. After Shaq and Kobe won their first championship with the Lakers, it seemed like the feud between their two stars might be over. But while Shaq relished in finally reaching the mountaintop, Kobe was dissatisfied. He spent the whole summer working on his shot, hoping to become such an elite scorer that no one could deny him first-option status in the Laker offense. The Lakers kept winning, but Shaq didn't agree with Kobe's plan, and their conflicts in viewpoint inflamed the "work beef."
This third and final part chronicles the breakup and the aftermath. In 2004, despite an ongoing scandal and a recent return to the Finals, Kobe wanted the Lakers to himself, and made it so. How did that final season and breakup unfold, and how did Shaq and Kobe find their way back to friendship in the decades that followed?
(Correction: The clip of Shaq is from Scary Movie 4, not Scary Movie 2.)
Written and produced by Seth Rosenthal
Art direction by Mike Das
Part 1 directed and edited by Ryan Simmons
Part 2 directed and edited by Charlotte Atkinson
Part 3 directed and edited by Jiazhen Zhang
Motion graphics by Mike Das, Phil Pasternak, and Tyson Whiting
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