On Monday afternoon, Kim Kardashian rented out the Staples Center for Kanye West's birthday so that him and a bunch of his friends—including Justin Bieber, Tyga, and more—could play on the Lakers' home court. She also hired real NBA referees to officiate their game and brought in a handful of Lakers cheerleaders to cheer for Kanye & Co. And she asked Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Shaquille O'Neal, and other current and former NBA stars to send video messages to Kanye on the JumbroTron.
Shaq decided to send his birthday wishes to Kanye in the form of a freestyle over the beat from 'Ye's hit song, "Runaway." And while we're not sure if Shaq meant to do this, he ended up taking a subliminal shot at Kobe during his short verse.
"Staples Center, that was me/2001 to 2003," he rapped. "MVP, I did it by myself/Can't you tell by my accumulated wealth?"
"I did it by myself"? That specific line led to responses like this on Instagram:
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For the record, Shaq actually had some of his best years with the Lakers between 2000 and 2002. He won NBA titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002 and was named NBA Finals MVP during all three of those seasons. But Kobe averaged more than 20 points in both the regular season and postseason during all three of those seasons, so Shaq didn't exactly do it all by himself as he said in his freestyle for Kanye.
Do you think Shaq meant to take aim at Kobe here?
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[via @godsmessenger]
