“He’d tell Del, ‘Put the kid back in the game’” — Shaquille O’Neal reveals that Jerry Buss’ made sure young Kobe Bryant got minutes
Since he purchased the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, Dr. Jerry Buss has always gone after the stars. He always believed that the main recipe for winning championships is to build the team around superstars, and true enough, the Lakers have employed the most notable players in basketball history.
The Lakers went from the era of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They’ve always been known to go after the big shiny names, which entailed great responsibility.
Dr. Jerry Buss always prioritized his superstars.
One way Buss, who passed on the same practice of going after superstars to his children, recruited and kept his superstars satisfied was to prioritize them. He knew it was important to keep them happy and give in to their desires, even if politics got in the way. It happened when Johnson wanted Paul Westhead fired, Bryant wanted O’Neal out of the team or speaking in current times when James wanted Davis in Los Angeles.
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This was further confirmed by Shaquille O’Neal in his book entitled “Shaq Uncut.” O’Neal opened up about that time when Buss ordered head coach Del Harris to give young Bryant more minutes even if the latter would mess up on the court. It was Buss’ way of ensuring Bryant was getting as much experience as possible while knowing he would be prioritized over his teammates.
“ … One of Buss’s cronies would come up in the middle of the game and tap Del on the shoulder. He’d tell Del, ‘Put the kid back in the game.’ I never knew what the guy’s name was, but there he was, always lurking around our bench, talking to our coach while we were trying to beat San Antonio.” O’Neal wrote.
The fact the fans were chanting for Kobe made the decision a no-brainer - as much as Harris didn't think Kobe had earned all those minutes.
The superstar over coach
Harris, who coached the Lakers from 1994-1999, was the first-ever professional basketball coach Bryant worked with. He was also the first coach to witness O’Neal and Bryant play together as teammates, and while he was let go after 3 years of doing so, the Diesel still admired how he handled both superstars.
“One thing I admired about him, though, was he didn’t care if you were Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant—he was hard on everybody. If Kobe came down and threw it between his legs ten times and then made a pass, Del would call a time-out and tell him, “Pass the damn ball!” and then Kobe would talk back and Del would sit his a** down. That was impressive.” O’Neal said.
Unfortunately for Harris, he never got to win a championship with young Kobe and Shaq, which prompted the Lakers to go for a more experienced and accomplished head coach in Phil Jackson — who later won 3 championships with the duo. It was also not a coincidence that it was O’Neal who wanted Jackson to replace Harris, and like clockwork, the superstar got what he wanted.