“You come in and he’s practical jokes every single day” – Luke Walton on the contrasting leadership styles of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal

“You come in and he’s practical jokes every single day” – Luke Walton on the contrasting leadership styles of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Though the Los Angeles Lakers added Hall of Famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone to the roster in the 2003-04 NBA season, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were regarded as the true leaders of the squad. After all, they had led the team to three straight championships. They knew the triangle offense like the back of their hands. They had the city of Los Angeles under their control.

The true leaders

Luke Walton joined the squad at this critical juncture. He saw how a championship-caliber team operated, got a front-row seat to how the Shaq-Kobe partnership worked — its ups and downs and, more importantly, saw the difference in leadership styles between the two titans.

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Bryant led by example. He didn’t say much and let his actions do the talking. Meanwhile, the dominant O’Neal had the same gregarious attitude we now see on TV. He may cause a lot of laughter during practices. But during game time, Shaq was dead serious about protecting his teammates.

“Early in my career, Kobe was still the incredible hard worker and natural leader on the floor, but there wasn’t much as far as leadership in bringing guys with you,” Walton said, per Bleacher Report. “It was kind of like: ‘Look, I’m here first, I’m working harder than anyone, I’m obviously more talented than everybody and I’m going to give everything I have in every game I play.’ So, naturally, he’s a leader; you respect that. “

“Where, with Shaq, you come in and he’s practical jokes every single day, he’s telling you he’s got your back and, if somebody is fouling you, he’d tell you to ‘run them in to me next time.’ He’d lay them out for you—little things like that would make you love Shaq,” the retired forward said.

Related: “Shaq, I’m from the Balkans, you cannot haze me so hard, I’ve seen everything” – Goran Dragic recalls how he survived Shaquille O’Neal’s rookie treatment

A tough lesson

Having excellent leaders only meant that Walton was put through the fire almost every day. In an interview in 2016, the Arizona Wildcats alum recalled when he came to practice drunk and his teammates immediately noticed. Kobe matched up with him in practice and instructed the team that nobody could help.

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“And I was laughing at first, like, ‘Oh, this is funny,'” Luke said. “But in Kobe’s mind, in his eyes, he was like, ‘No, I see and smell weakness. I’m going to destroy you today.’ He taught me a lesson (laughing), he taught me a lesson. He probably scored 70-something in practice that day, and I’m begging for help, but none of my teammates would help. His killer instinct and his work ethic will stick with me forever.”

Being torched by the “Black Mamba” wasn’t enough for Walton. He showed up to practice drunk again, and this time, it was “Shaq Diesel” who took matters into his own hands. The 6’8” forward didn’t know how much O’Neal scored on him. All he remembered was a bloody beating.

“Shaq did it to me, too, one day. Yeah, Shaq made me guard him, and then I just started trying to foul him, and he told me that if I kept fouling him, he was gonna punch me, so then I stopped fouling him. It wasn’t fair. I felt like I was a child trying to play a grown man’s game,” the two-time NBA champion added.

Walton’s first year in the NBA was a crash course on respect and professionalism. Safe to assume the forward learned from the experts on the topic. Luke’s presence was valued enough that the Lakers kept him on the roster for a few years.

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Related: “God, if you let me get through this, I won’t play no more” – Larry Bird describes the moment that made him retire for good

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.