The Big Podcast with Shaq and Kobe Bryant is available now, with some great quotes here

The highly anticipated podcast featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant is available now in the iTunes store, reuniting two of the greatest Los Angeles Lakers. It's roughly 20 minutes of traveling down memory lane, delving into one of the most successful and fascinating eras of Lakers basketball. Shaq and Kobe touched on their relationship, which you can read quotes from over here, the best Lakers team they were a part of, and much more.

The two joked and laughed throughout the podcast, talking about topics ranging from Uncle Shaq always greeting Vanessa Bryant and Kobe's kids, to a unanimous decision that the 2001 Lakers team that went 15-1 in the playoffs is the best team they played on, and a fun conversation about pushing to one-up each other in championship ring counts once they parted ways.

Shaq didn't waste much time once Kobe joined the show, laying out what happened when he was traded to the Miami Heat:

Shaq: It was just two alpha males, and then the business aspect kicked in -- and a lot of people don't know about that -- but the business aspect kicked in and I was getting older. Management is like, "hey you're getting older and we know you want this but we want to give you that. And in my mind I was like "I'm not getting older, I don't want that, I don't want that," and then they just wanted to move in a new direction. See, the good thing about Dr. Buss, Kobe said it earlier, Dr. Buss will tell you to your face. Dr. Buss called me and said this is what we want to do, and this is not what we're going to do, and if you don't accept we'll have to trade you. And I always respected Dr. Buss for that. I have no problems, no quarrel with his family because that's how you do business.

And if you're ready to jump on the #KobeForAmerica train, the Mamba agreed with Shaq that the NBA is "a lot softer" than it was "back in the day," then went on to say the Olympics are more physical than the league is today:

Kobe: 100 percent. 100 percent. I've said that before too. When we play in the Olympics, the physicality in the Olympics is actually -- they're more physical than the NBA is. It's the silliest thing in the world. The NBA used to be the toughest, strongest league in the world, and now it's not that. And I don't know what happened to all the seven-footers. I don't know if they're just not growing anymore or what.

And Shaq's message to Kobe to close the segment was a great way to wrap things up:

Shaq: Kobe I just want to say I love you brother, and I miss you. I enjoyed the times we played together, wish we could've got to seven championships but it is what it is. We're still the most respected, the most dominant one-two punch in Laker history. I know they're going to be talking about this, yes, we are the most dominant one-two punch in Laker history. I don't care what nobody else says. And I love you brother, and I miss you, and good luck this year.

You can get the podcast in the iTunes store right over here, or listen in the embedded player below: