Charles Barkley says Shaquille O’Neal wouldn’t have rings if not for Kobe Bryant

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Mark Medina

For far too long, the the narrative surrounding Kobe Bryant centered on his inability to win an NBA championship without Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq said it. Plenty in the media repeated it. And Bryant listened to it. Hence, why Bryant found great satisfaction both in winning his fourth NBA title and first one without O’Neal (Bryant likened the criticism to Chinese water torture). He also relished his winning his fifth NBA title and his second one without the Big Fella (“I got one more than Shaq”)

But with O’Neal endlessly ripping Dwight Howard on the TNT telecast of the Rockets-Blazers game, Charles Barkely suddenly turned the narrative.

“If it wasn’t for Kobe Bryant, you wouldn’t have everything,” Barkely said. “Why don’t you walk over to NBA TV studios and thank Rick Fox for getting you those rings?”

Surprisingly, Shaq had no response.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com

Mitch Kupchak “a little surprised” Shaquille O’Neal became minority owner of Sacramento Kings

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Mark Medina

The smirk on Mitch Kupchak’s face widened at the mere mention of his name.

Safe to say Kupchak’s admission that “it’s a little surprising” that Shaquille O’Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings seems a bit understated. That’s because O’Neal spent part of his eight years with the Lakers dismissively calling the Sacramento franchise the “Queens” before eliminating them from the 2000 to 2002 NBA playoffs en route to three championships.

“I think it’s great,” Kupchak said Wednesday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo. “I think the ownership there has a lot of energy and excitement and made some changes.”
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Shaquille O’Neal becomes minority owner of Sacramento Kings

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Mark Medina

Nearly a decade after both dismissing and mandhandling the Sacramento Kings, Shaquille O’Neal will now have a minority ownership stake in the franchise.

The involvement from the former Lakers center comes on the heels of the Maloof family selling the Kings franchise in May to Vivek Ranadive. For O’Neal, it brings things back full circle after once referring to the Kings as the “Queens” and eliminating them in the 2000-2002 NBA playoffs.

“(The Lakers and Kings) did have some great battles, and fans need to understand that those (‘Sacramento Queens’) comments that I made and all that stuff, it was for them,” O’Neal told USA Today’s Sam Amick. “I’ve always been an expert at marketing, so a Laker-vs. Sacramento Kings, I wanted it to be the most watched game ever.

“But right now, (the Kings are) down, and they have new ownership, and we’re going to bring it back up. It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to be a destination place that people want to see.”

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com