Media made Shaq and Kobe feud bigger than it was, says Devean George

The Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles Lakers teams of the early to mid 2000's will be remembered first and foremost for winning three championships in a row and going to four finals, but they are next most recalled for the two stars' disagreements.

According to at least one teammate for part of those runs, former Lakers forward Devean George, told journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists the media "absolutely, 100 percent" made a bigger deal about those fights than they actually were, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.

It is not uncommon for athletes to claim media blew theirs or their teammates' actions out of proportion, and George is not the first and almost certainly will not be the first or the last to do so. However, it is still interesting to hear someone who was part of that situation on a day to day basis say that the disagreements between the two were not actually that big of a deal.