When superstar NBA players break up, it’s a big deal. Basketball is a game driven by personality and relationships. Chemistry, cohesion, and trust are essential for winning. Putting multiple stars together is often the key to success in the NBA. But when those relationships fall apart, the results can be explosive.
Not every superstar duo or trio is built on friendship. Players don’t need to be best buddies, they just need to work well together. That said, with so much time spent together, such high stakes work, and such big personalities, even the most cordial professional NBA relationship can fall apart.
Whether through free agency or trade, the NBA has seen some intense breakups over the years. Here are the most important ones:
Shaq and Kobe
Few NBA partnerships have earned as much publicity, wonder, and debate like Shaq and Kobe. (There’s a whole Wikipedia page about it!)
Despite a very up and down relationship, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant won three titles in four trips…