Kobe Bryant On Playing With Shaq: 'It Wasn't A Natural Mix'

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant took some time to talk to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio Wednesday morning, and spoke rather candidly about his time playing with Shaquille O'Neal in tinsel town, and Shaq's comments concerning Bryant not winning any rings without him.

Kobe certainly didn't beat around the bush when speaking with Cowherd:

Whether or not him and Shaq could've co-existed for a longer period of time:

"There was no way it was going to last. (Host: It's not built for that.) Absolutely not. (Host: When you look back at that now do you get a warm feeling?) I do. I do. I absolutely do because what we achieved was remarkable especially when you consider we weren't a natural pair. We just were not. We were able to make it work, we figured out how to go about doing it, how to dominate games, and things like that but it wasn't a natural mix."

When asked about Shaq saying Kobe couldn't win rings without him, Kobe admitted that it was a motivating factor for him:

On Shaq's comments about Kobe not winning a championship without him:

"There was an interview I heard Shaq do in which he threw down a challenge of me not being able to win without him. After I read that I said ‘that's it.' Some comparison he made with me and Penny Hardaway and once I read that I said ‘you know what? I can't finish my career with people saying that.' There's just no way."

For more on the Lake Show, head over to Silver Screen and Roll.