"They wanted me to take less money" - $450 million worth Shaquille O'Neal opens up on the real reason why he left Kobe Bryant and the Lakers

LA Lakers legends Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant experienced a lot of success in their eight seasons of playing together in LA between 1996 and 2004. The superstar duo won three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002. However, O’Neal and Bryant later ended up feuding, with the former being shipped to Miami in 2004.

For years, many assumed that O’Neal’s trade request was solely due to his poor relationship with Bryant. However, the big man has since clarified the main reason he left LA.

During an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast last year, O’Neal spoke in-depth about his decision to leave the Lakers. O’Neal explained that it mainly had to do with the Lakers asking him to take a pay cut.

“The reason why I got traded, it wasn’t about me and Kobe’s beef. It was that (the Lakers) wanted me to take less money. I’m not doing that,” O’Neal said.

“I got money, I had money. I just should’ve been like ‘Alright, I raised you enough. It’s your team now. I know what I’m going to do. I’m still going to do my 28 (points), and 10 (rebounds).’ But I was like ‘Nah, I want $150 (million).’”

Shaquille O’Neal wishes he stayed with the Lakers for the rest of his career

LA Lakers legends Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal

Later on in his interview, Shaquille O’Neal added that if he had to do it all over again, he would have liked to finish his career in LA. O’Neal said he should have consulted with his family more on the matter to ensure that he was making the right decision. However, the big man said his ego hindered his thought process.

“If I had to do it all again, I probably would have had a meeting with the family. ‘What y’all want to do? You want me to take less money, take a lesser role, stay here, or do you still want me to be Shaq?’” O’Neal said.

“See it’s that ego. The ego still got me what I wanted. I still went to Miami, Pat (Riley) took care of me and I still won one. But I would have liked to stay (in LA) the rest of my career.”

O’Neal would only go on to win one more title (2006) over the final seven years of his career after leaving LA, finishing his career with a total of four championships. However, he believes that if he had stayed with the Lakers, he would have won seven championships.

No one can say for sure what would have happened had O’Neal stayed in LA. However, most would agree that it’s a fascinating what-if scenario.

Shaquille O’Neal’s full conversation about his departure from LA begins at the 5:47 mark below: