Shaquille & Kobe won three back-to-back championship titles, this is why O'Neal left the Lakers

Shaquille O'Neal was the most dominant player the NBA has ever seen, in the early 2000's he 'owned' the league alongside Kobe Bryant as they won together three championship titles.

Unlike Kobe Bryant, Shaq didn't stay the rest of his career with the purple and gold as the big man left the team after winning the third consecutive title in LA.

O'Neal revealed the reason why he left the franchise and it hasn't to do with Kobe as many first believed but with what the front office offered him then "By February, our negotiations with the Lakers were at an impasse. They were offering two years at $21 million a season, and that wasn’t going to work.

"After I won three championships and three Finals MVPs, they wanted me to take a $10 million pay cut — and they were willing to guarantee only two years.”

The reason why LA didn't offer O'Neal more to keep him

Shaquille O'Neal turned 32 years old in 2004 and was fast approaching the end of his prime. It makes sense that the Los Angeles Lakers didn't want to give him a massive deal with a raise, but it's still a move that may have cost them another championship.