Kobe opens up about past frustrations with Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant may be away from the court due to a torn rotator cuff, but "Black Mamba" is never out of the spotlight.

Bryant followed up his interview on NBA TV with an interview with Chuck Klosterman of GQ, in which Bryant discussed his tenuous relationships with Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal during their three-peat.

The interview is worth a full read, but Bryant is notably frank in voicing his displeasures. 

Bryant was upset by Phil Jackson's practice of motivating players through subtle jabs via the media.

"So he would take shots at me in the press, and I understood he was doing that in order to ingratiate himself to Shaq," Bryant said. "And since I knew what he was doing, I felt like that was an insult to my intelligence. I mean, I knew what he was doing. Why not just come to me and tell me that?"

Bryant also didn't take kindly to Jackson favoring O'Neal. "He (O'Neal) had years where he was lazy." But as is his modus operandi, Bryant said he withstood the injustice in the noble pursuit of championships.

"I chose to extend my deal with the Lakers to play with Shaquille O'Neal and win championships," Bryant said. "I knew what I could have done individually. I could have gone to another team and averaged 35 points a game. I could have gone anywhere and destroyed people. I gave that up to win championships."

Despite all the supposed tension and bitterness, the end result was worth the trouble, as the trio of Jackson, O'Neal and Bryant went on to capture three championships together.