It's been a whirlwind final season for Kobe Bryant, who's received loving send-offs in every opposing arena despite all the havoc he wreaked on those franchises as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his career. Shaquille O'Neal shared the court with Bryant for a good chunk of that destruction of the NBA, and the newly minted Hall of Famer lamented the lack of his own retirement tour on an upcoming recording of "The BIG Podcast with Shaq," even saying he's "jealous" of his former teammate.
Shaquille O’Neal is ‘jealous’ of Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour
Shaq admitted some jealousy that he didn’t get a retirement tour like his former teammate.
Shaq finished off his career in 2010-11 with the Boston Celtics, and while a farewell tour in Boston wouldn't have been as special as Kobe's with the Lakers, the big man still would've received plenty of adoration from fans around the league. In fact, O'Neal had plans to do a "Shaq tour" in the second year of his two-year deal in Boston, but injuries forced him to call it quits after just one season (h/t to FTW):
“I’m super jealous. I wanted a Shaq tour, man. I did. Like, I never said this but this is killing me. It did. So, you know, I had two years in Boston. I got hurt my first year, but the second year, we were going to plan a whole Shaq tour. I’m super jealous. I wanted a Shaq tour.”
It’s no surprise that Shaq is jealous of Kobe getting all this love while he wasn’t able to enjoy a similar finish to his illustrious career. The duo’s differences are well documented, and Shaq was just as big a part of the Lakers going back-to-back-to-back as Kobe, if not a bigger part.
Plus, given Shaq’s larger than life personality, he would’ve been a perfect candidate for an entertaining farewell tour. It may not have been as significant as Kobe’s, but it may have been even more fun.
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