Description
The inside story of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 through 2004, when Kobe Bryant and ShaquilleONeal combinedand collidedto help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the teamas a powerhouse franchiseIn modern sports, there have never been two superstar teammates who loathed one another the way Shaq loathedKobe and Kobe loathed Shaq. There was whisperedand outspokensniping and sparring. Taunts. Physicalaltercations. The recurring threats of trades. This was warfare disguised as NBA basketball. And yet, despite eight yearsof infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by idiosyncratic coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duoresulted in one of the greatest, most enduring, and ever-evolving teams in NBA history.Just as Kobe and Shaq entertained huge crowds of fans at the Forum (and later Staples Center), so they alsoprovided a nonstop sideshow for their cast of supporting playersincluding Glen Rice, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, KarlMalone, J.R. Rider, and briefly even Dennis Rodmanwhose games often seem enhanced by their biggest stars asthey tried mightily not to pick sides.With Kobe Bryants tragic death in 2020, Three-Ring Circus also serves as an extraordinary coming-of-age taleabout one of our eras most revered athletes. Bryants competitiveness, insecurities, and inspiring growth as a playercome into full focus. As best-selling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman shows in this rollicking masterpiece of reporting, legacyis never simple.
