Bryant, O’Neal clear the air
Bryant and O’Neal discuss their relationship on O’Neal’s The Big Podcast with Shaq. O’Neal and Bryant were teammates on the Lakers from 1996 to 2004, winning titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002. However, a constant feud between the two led to O’Neal’s eventual departure from the team in 2004. O’Neal:
It’s time to clear the air, because I’ve said many times that we were the most enigmatic, controversial, most talked-about, dominant one-two punch. I just want people to know that I don’t hate you, I know you don’t hate me. I called it today a ‘work beef,’ is what we had.
Bryant:
Here’s the thing — what we did, our disagreements, what made those things special is we said them to each other’s face. We didn’t go behind each other’s back and whisper to our teammates about this, that and the other, because that does nothing but create friction and it’s cancerous to the team.
Has nightmares about Finals loss
During an appearance on Bleacher Report Radio, James says he still feels the pain of his 2015 NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors:
I just don’t feel like you ever move on from losing in the Finals. You feel like you’re right there. You have a great opportunity to do something special … I guess there’s nightmares, now, about them, about situations throughout the games, and it’s always replaying in my head. You know, it was definitely difficult, and I’m getting better every day, but you know, it takes quite a while for me to get out of the funk.
36 points against Bulls
Westbrook talks about the game against the Chicago Bulls. Westbrook had 36 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, including one to Morrow for a 3-pointer in the final minute, helping the Thunder hold off Bulls 109-100.
We did a good job of learning from our mistakes. The first time we played them, I had a chance to hit Serge [Ibaka] on a kickback [when] two guys was on me. Tonight, same situation — two guys on me. I kicked to A-Mo and trusted my teammate and he knocked it down, so it was good.