Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby was one of the first players called to the 2004 Olympics squad. It made sense, as he was one of the top point guards then and had led the Sacramento Kings to multiple playoff appearances.
Why Bibby?
Los Angeles Lakers big man Shaquille O'Neal was dismayed by the decision to select Bib, implying that the point guard wasn't all that skilled.
"How did Mike Bibby get on the team?" Shaq said , per ESPN. "Any Cub Scout with Boy Scouts can do Boy Scoutish things. When (Bibby) was in the Cub Scouts, he was a Cub Scout. When he was with Vancouver, nobody heard about (him). Now that he's with Sacramento ... he's on the team. I ain't going.
"And Allen Iverson isn't on the team? Why not? (U.S. coach) Larry Brown should have said, 'If he's not on the team, I'm not going,'" O'Neal added.
This wasn't just a random and unmotivated diss from Shaq. To recall, the Kings and the Lakers were two of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Purple and Gold met the Sac-Town three times in the playoffs during their championship run, and things got heated often.
Perhaps their best duel was in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, a series marred by a betting scandal involving referee Tim Donaghy and highlighted by Robert Horry's game-winning 3-pointer in Game 4.
Related: Oscar Schmidt shares how beating Team USA after a miraculous 35-point second-half performance was ‘the best part of his life’
Bibby and Bobby Jackson clapped back
Mike replied but in the most professional way possible. The former Arizona Wildcat didn't care about Shaq's antics. However, Bibby's backup guard, Bobby Jackson , didn't spare words for the big man.
"I don't care what he says about me," Bibby said. "I don't care what anybody says. It's not going to affect me."
"That's just talk from a guy who likes to talk," Jackson said. "Nobody cares. You can't listen to everything he says. Even he don't listen to everything he says. Shaq is looking to get the rivalry started already, before the playoffs even start. He has no right to criticize Mike about making the Olympic team."
Bibby eventually pulled out of the team due to alleged safety concerns. Meanwhile, Iverson was included, which probably delighted O'Neal. However, the 2004 Olympics is considered a dark chapter in USA basketball. Controversies surrounded the All-Star-stacked squad, which settled for the bronze. In the end, neither Mike nor Shaq won the little back-and-forth.
Related: Mike Bibby recalls the 2002 WCF against the Lakers: "We were the best team in the league that year"
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