Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty

by Jeff Pearlman

The story of the Lakers dynasty from 1996 through 2004, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal combined—and collided—to help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the franchise as a powerhouse

In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant, and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. Together, the two led the Lakers to three straight championships and returned glory and excitement to Los Angeles. 

In the tradition of Jeff Pearlman’s bestsellers Showtime,   Boys Will Be Boys,  and  The Bad Guys Won, Three-Ring Circus is a rollicking deep dive into one of sports’ most fraught yet successful pairings. 

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Biography, Pop Culture

426 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2020

About the author

Jeff Pearlman is an American sportswriter. He has written nine books that have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list: four about football, three on baseball and two about basketball. He authored the 1999 John Rocker interview in Sports Illustrated.

Reviews

[Brandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three-Ring Circus covers the Lakers dynasty from 1996-2004. This era included the drafting of Kobe Bryant, the signing of Shaquille O’Neal, and the coaching of one of the NBA’s all-time best, Phil Jackson.

While this Lakers team definitely had its share of victories including three championships, it wasn’t smooth sailing. There was a lot of turmoil and tension among the team, most notably between Kobe and Shaq. As a long-time basketball fan, I knew about a lot of this but appreciated some of the behind the scenes information about Lakers’ trades and team management decisions.

Jeff Pearlman wrote this book with some sarcasm, noting where he thought various players were being ridiculous by including comments like, “yes, that actually happened.” I know Kobe wasn’t a great teammate for many of his early years — I do think the light shed on him often felt harsher than on other players and the fact that he was drafted straight out of high school at age 18, is not given enough weight. I recognize not everyone shares the view that young athletes are often judged and not allowed the same concessions to grow up and become more mature, like non-athletes often are in their initial adult years.

In reading Three-Ring Circus, it’s clear Pearlman is a Team Shaq guy, though he called him lazy multiple times. Kobe isn’t for everyone and I know he wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t love the way he was portrayed through most of this book. I am glad the Lakers were able to regroup a few years later down the road, after the scope of time detailed here — 3.5 stars

[P Knightly · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Author claims he’s painting a real picture of Kobe during this era (similar to how MJ was shown in The Last Dance). The Last Dance was executed better because MJ was still shown as the man and an iconic hooper in The Last Dance. Imagine if they said Jordan was a bad person and left it at that. That’s what this book does...says Kobe a mean selfish person and leaves it at that. This book always takes shots at Kobe and never once paints a real picture of how lethal of a basketball player Kobe Bryant was during this era. It’s like the Author just said “he’s a terrible person and decent at basketball”. Super in-depth with his flaws but not in-depth with his good attributes or skill level. Honestly save your money and buy 11 Rings by Phil Jackson or Showboat by Ronald Lazenby. Any props he gives Kobe is followed by sarcasm. No highlights of any of the good things he did during this time.

[Matthew Shiney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My formative years were spent watching and loving this team. They were my heroes and I lived and died by what the Lakers did on the court. However, I did not realize the true extent of the drama that went on off the court. Jeff Pearlman paints a vivid picture of the dysfunction that enveloped this team from 1996-2004 with no respite. I have spent much time in the years that followed wondering how many titles they left on the table by breaking up the duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. After reading this book, the appropriate question should be, “How did this team win any titles?” Kobe, my childhood hero, was the worst possible co-worker imaginable. Shaq was an affable, fun-loving, generous teammate, but deep insecurities exacerbated an already explosive situation with his immature co-star who could not accept that Shaq was the straw that stirred the Lakers’ drink. The less dynamic Laker role players on the court like Rick Fox, Brian Shaw and Derek Fisher were the stars off the court by keeping this team from imploding for as long as they did. Everyone is aware of the Shaq-Kobe relationship, but Pearlman does a fantastic job filling in the gaps by bringing those periphery characters to life - people like Nick Van Exel, Mike Penberthy, JR Rider and much more. Pearlman takes you right in the middle of that terrible night in Colorado in painstaking, uncomfortable detail. He pulls no punches. Yet other parts of the book he brings a sense of humor and an appreciation for the absurdity of the whole enterprise of those Lakers teams.

This book was completed before the death of Kobe. While this book is not a flattering portrayal of the Black Mamba, Pearlman does a good job acknowledging that this is a factual picture of what Kobe was like in those years, not necessarily a representation of what he became before his death.

It is detailed enough without being bogged down in the minutiae. It is a brisk, fast-paced narrative. I would recommend this book on a vital piece of basketball history to anyone interested in the Lakers, whether they love them or hate them (there usually isn’t an middle ground).

[John Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pearlman is pretty tough on everybody here, and I’m not sure he’s completely fair.
He thinks coach Jackson is an elitist, Shaq lazy and Kobe arrogant; the last two to a Shakespearean degree.

But this is a good book, well researched.


Btw Pearlman’s book on USFL is a real hoot.

[Bry · Rating 2 out of 5]

All style, no substance. Despite an entertaining - if slightly juvenile - writing style, this book takes over 400 pages to tell a story that could’ve been told in substantially less. Even though I’m no Kobe fan, the author rags on him constantly, never ever touching on his basketball mastery. Instead, he incessantly harps on him (through quotes and his own diction) for being selfish and self-absorbed. If you’re writing a book about one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties, at least talk about their greatness.

[Joe Krieger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well written, lotta good insider stories. Kobe’s a POS

[James Scoolis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this was a disappointing read. Pearlman excels at telling the dirt on everyone and unflinchingly pointing out their flaws.

As he wrote in this review of dysfunctional basketball, everyone was either a Kobe guy or a Shaq guy. Pearlman was definitely NOT a Kobe guy. To believe this tale, there has never been a more despicable or selfish human than Kobe Bryant. He does have a lot of good things to say about Shaq and other lesser lights who I presume gave him the time of day during his research, like Mike Penberthy (who?) who is painted with a very favorable brush.

The three-peating NBA Champion Lakers apparently did very few things well, at least according to Pearlman. I was a fan at the time and remember the drama and immaturity of it all but, it could not have been as bad as it is described here. For the most part it’s a painful read unless you hate Kobe, then this is the book for you and will make your black heart soar. For a more interesting and well written review of the disastrous 2003-04 Laker team, read Phil Jackson's "The Last Season"; Pearlman obviously did as he lifted most of the conversations verbatim in his book from Phil's superior telling.

[Conor Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best sports book I've ever read. Not hyperbole either.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked Pearlman's earlier book about the Lakers so I thought I would try this one too. It does what it says on the label! I knew there would be a lot of reminiscing and gossip, but I didn't realize that I would be reading about three of the most stubborn and intransigent humans on Earth. Probably I should have guessed that though.

[Steven Mandeville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun read for the in-depth sports fan

[Daniel Montague · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this heavily researched look at the Laker years from 1996 to 2004. Jeff Pearlman wrote a book that found a beautiful symbiosis between a factual game by game look and a gossipy rag. He takes the reader into a deep dive of personalities which encapsulated this era of the Lakers. He is an independent voice who does not hide or shield any of the players. He is not interested in providing hagiographies of the greats of the era (Shaq, Kobe or Phil Jackson). There are plenty of biographies of the aforementioned "stars", thankfully this is not of them.

Like, previous works I have read from Pearlman on the USFL, the Dallas Cowboys and the 1980s Lakers, this book is exhaustively researched. From bench dwellers to assistant coaches to team equipment managers we get a true nuts and bolts experience. It is through various interviews and anecdotes that we learn about the dynamics of the team. From the view of an admittedly hater of this team (fuck the Lakers), I was mesmerized by the utter contempt that the two shining lights had for one another. The amount of jealousies and perceived and real slights that each harbored towards one another could have filled months of a soap opera. In spite of this disdain they were able to put together some magical hoops culminating in 3 NBA championships.

As much as I enjoyed the back biting aspect of this story some of the nuance of the games felt lost. In too many cases, instead of a heart rendering account of a game we found a flat statistical account or Kobe Bryant did something selfish to sabotage the team flow (shot too many low percentage shots). The biggest drawback for a good amount of Lakers fans would be that the years covered (1996-2004) were the peak of dickish Kobe Bryant. In these years, Kobe was an immature, aloof, braggart whose mixture of arrogance and petulance endeared him to no one. Also, he raped someone. While, Shaq was depicted in multitudes of being a fun-loving, generous and affable teammate albeit with some moodiness and self-grandeur thrown in, Kobe came across as an entitled prick who needed a good ass whupping. Thankfully, by most accounts Kobe matured and became a better person (less rapey) and better teammate (his chip on his shoulder was merely continent instead of planetoid in size).

Overall, this book was wholly entertaining with stories that illuminated these story teams. I found myself liking certain people more (Rick Fox, JR Rider, Shaq, Robert Horry), certain people less (Gary Payton, Phil Jackson, Cedric Ceballos) and despising Kobe Bryant the same. If you want a refreshing story about a team that pulls itself from the bootstraps and conquers despite its physical limitations then this is not the book for you. If you want a book showcasing the fallible nature of mankind manifested in a team which more often than not had a distinctive physical advantage and imploded due to fragile egos and psyches then this is your book.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the majority of this while hiking mount jefferson and mount isolation in the white mountains. I finished 7-8 hours of it on my isolation hike. It made the day even more enjoyable. Very fun and entertaining. Will definitely check out more of the authors books.

[Daniel Woolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was far from what I expected going into it. By the halfway point I was delighted (as someone who actively cheers for the lakers to lose) that the tone of the book seemed unsympathetic to the lakers and particularly Kobe Bryant. I went into the experience expecting nothing but praise for our three men at focal point of the story but it was about as far from that as one could write. The writing style and pacing made this a super enjoyable read, one of the few that had me stop everything I was doing to tell someone what I had learned about the Shaq and Kobe era lakers. But just like on the court, this book was a tale of two halves.

As I got into the later parts of the book I started to get fed up with the tone. The book became more about slandering the 3 lakers stars and less about the “truth” of what happened. The author put so much effort into pointing out everything wrong with the players and coach that I began to question if I, as the reader, was getting anywhere near a full picture. The bias was too heavy handed for me to enjoy the experience fully.

My biggest flaw with the book outside of the clear author bias was the handling of the infamous Kobe Bryant court case. The author gave the full detailed account from the victim, probably to give the reader the opportunity to draw a conclusion from the account (a biased conclusion). The author added extremely, and entirely too, graphic details from the victim’s initial police report. While an important part of this era of the lakers and Kobe’s legacy, my opinion of the author plummeted just as much as my opinion of Kobe when the case came to light. The account could have been handled in a different way and the reader could still understand the author’s closing argument: that even though Kobe won and succeeded on the court, his off court actions shouldn’t have been so easily forgotten. I don’t disagree with what the author was pushing, but the graphic detail probably didn’t need to be included in the manner portrayed.

[Dima · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what was worse, the ~30 page span where my book flipped between pages 40 and 120 erroneously, or the writing of this book.

I mean, the pacing was completely garbage. He’d spend a lifetime talking about how the Lakers sucked all season then oh shucks they won the 2000 championship. Rinse and repeat 3 times. Like are they just suffering from success?? How can you make a threepeat sound like an accident?

“Kobe was the worst, Shaq was fat” for 390 pages. Learned a lot, thanks Jeff

I leave you with this gem: “Horry liked the mismatch, and came up to set a pick. It was perfectly done, and Horry then rolled- all alone, in the way one is all alone when he has hepatitis C and is coughing uncontrollably - toward the basket.”

[Lewis Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucks! The most egregious shortcoming is the way the book handles the Kobe Bryant rape case, which has some truly incredible “aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” energy.

After a fairly detailed recounting of the assault in Colorado, the book only discusses the rape, the victim and the case in terms of their impact on Kobe’s ability to play basketball. By removing the victim from the story, the book suggests that their suffering isn’t worthy of our attention and does not matter. In this way it continues to dehumanize the victim in the same way that Kobe and his legal team did. This sucks!

The book’s focus on “But what does it mean for the Lakers’ title defence?” is nothing short of psychotic. We read the following after Kobe hits a game-winner in a regular season match against the Nuggets in LA after attending a court hearing for the case in Colorado that morning:

“Regardless, Bryant’s mettle could not be denied. Rapist or no rapist, in the span of a day he had woken at dawn, flown to Colorado, sat in a courtroom 750 miles from home, returned from Colorado, rushed to a stadium, arrived late, changed, stretched, entered in the second quarter, scored 13 points, and hit a game-winning shot. Few even knew that, at halftime, he was connected to an IV.”

This is more or less how the book handles the whole case. Kobe may have raped someone, but gosh he sure handled the aftermath with courage and determination. He was so brave! He was so tough! His crime is a stage on which Kobe can display his sterling character.

We do read, in passing, of the death threats made against the victim and of her suicide attempt. But the book doesn’t link these to the tactics of Kobe’s legal team or his celebrity or in fact to the rape at all. The suffering of the woman Kobe raped is presented as a distant and independent phenomena, like the discovery of new moons on Saturn, perhaps of trivial interest but with no real bearing on anything that matters.

“A 22-year-old University of Iowa student left a profanity-laced death threat on [the victim’s] answering machine, promising that he would attack her with a coat hanger and kill her.”

Huh, that’s weird, I wonder why an Iowa university student would know or care about a woman in Colorado. How did the student get the woman’s name? Did other total strangers contact this woman around this time to harass her? I wonder if those strangers might have been Lakers fans. Ah well, who can say? Life is full of mysteries, and in this book we only care about those with direct bearing on the most important question of all: what does it mean for the Lakers’ title odds????

Somehow Pearlman does not find space to say something to the effect that when you take what you want from another person, even though it hurts them, even though they say “no”, and you take it anyway and you get away with it because you are rich and famous and physically stronger than them (when detectives ask Bryant if he choked her, he said “My hands are strong. I don’t know”)—when you do these things, you are not brave. You are a bully and a coward.

Anyway framing the rape case strictly in terms of its impact on basketball is not only disgusting; it’s also baffling given that Pearlman doesn’t seem to particularly like basketball. He doesn’t write about the game with any sophistication or insight. The stat he knows best and cares about most is points per game (though his standards are weirdly mercurial—sometimes scoring 10 points a game means you are a valuable member of an NBA team; at other times it means you are a worthless scrub). His writing about the sport is superficial and his understanding of it borders on the childlike.

The annoyance of this reaches its peak with the malicious glee with which Pearlman writes about marginal NBA players—those fighting for roster spots. He goes out of his way to dunk on these dudes. Can you imagine anything more shameful and foolish than playing basketball and not being one of the very players in sport? What a chump you’d have to be to do something like that!

This mean spirit extends to most of the basketball players in the book, actually. Pearlman’s NBA feels more like a YMCA gym on a particularly slow Sunday afternoon than the apogee of the sport. After finishing the book, I was unsurprised to see that Pearlman mostly writes about football and baseball.

And finishing this book is something no one should do! Skip this and read Know My Name by Chanel Miller instead.

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book, thoroughly researched and highly entertaining tour for the hoop junkie. About as good as his Showtime book. Sometimes the writing style gets a bit corny though.

The big takeaway from the book is that these guys really did hate each other when they played together, although it sounds like they came to a form of friendship later on. Shaq was the big lovable goof, not terribly serious, a dominant player whom most people loved and was generous and big hearted...most of the time. He could also be petty and temperamental. But really, the problem was Kobe. Coming into such fame at 17 after a somewhat unusual upbringing, Kobe was the classic mix of insecure and wannabe tough. Of course, he was a phenomenal competitor and worker, but he was also rude and standoffish to teammates as well as a straight up bully to those he saw as beneath him, like rookies. Kobe may have evolved into a mature, decent person, but he was not that guy for the first half of his career.

And this brings us to the rape charge. I didn't pay that much attention to the charges way back when or when he died. The outpouring of grief was so huge, as was his legend, that people didn't really revisit these allegations. However, after reading Pearlman's account, which is well-documented and features actual transcripts of the accuser's emails, I am about 90% convinced that he did it. The interviewing detectives, veterans of hundreds of sexual assault cases, say that she was consistent, persistent, and certain in her story and that they are fully convinced she is telling the truth. You have to be careful of pre-judgment, obviously, but this act wasn't shocking given Kobe's character: an unbelievable ego, a colossal sense of entitlement, and a history of cheating on his wife and treating women as disposable. I am now pretty sure that Kobe choked, degraded, and raped this woman. When the shock of his death fades a bit and the issue comes up of how to commemorate him (like a park or stadium in his name), I sure hope our society takes a closer look at this case, because a lot of the people who got "Me-Tooed," in Kanye's crude phrasing, did a good deal less than he did.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rocky trip down Lakers memory lane for me, having been a fan since 1965 when the two boys behind me in my 4th grade class pretended to be Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, stoking my basketball curiosity. Pearlman’s book covers the post-Showtime era from 1998-2004, when Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and coach Phil Jackson dominated the NBA, winning 3 straight NBA Finals. The book opens with the author’s description of where he was when he learned of Bryant’s death in January 2020: the Corner Bakery in Irvine, a restaurant I literally drove past twice a day for 23 years on my way to and from my office. I hoped this would be an interesting and personal story for me but unfortunately it was not. Pearlman took no pains to hide his deep-rooted grudge against Kobe Bryant, presenting negative anecdote after negative anecdote from other Lakers, especially from Shaquille O’Neal. The book was lopsided and it’s not surprising that - according to the author - the Lakers’ PR team was uncooperative with him. If you want a lot of unsubstantiated Lakers stories, this is the book for you. For me it ultimately fell flat.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in the mood to read something ridiculous. I was not disappointed. It was so good I ended up reading the bibliography section because I didn't want to stop turning the pages.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Shmu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative and well detailed, like damn. Must read for any sports fan. I never experienced the kobe and Shaq Lakers, they were well before my time, but incredible to learn about in detail after this time

[James Dillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conventional wisdom about the great Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal Laker teams of the early 2000s goes like this: Shaq was content for basketball to be one of his many interests, while Kobe was solely focused basketball above anything else. They were a poor fit as teammates, and ultimately went their separate ways, dooming the dynasty.

This is how I remembered it and I don’t think I’m unique. The Lakers were the first great team I knew as an NBA fan. While I have hazy memories of the second Bulls dynasty, I clearly recall the unstoppable force of the Shaq / Kobe Lakers clearly.

After reading Three Ring Circus, Jeff Pearlman’s recent book about these Lakers teams, I realize that my understanding of these teams, why they succeeded and fell apart was wrong. Shaq and Kobe weren’t too different to effectively coexist. Like a basketball episode of the Good Place, they were perfectly calibrated to torture each other.

Three Ring Circus is the story of the Lakers championship teams from the early 2000s. Shaquille O’Neal, the star center. Phil Jackson, the wise coach, and of course, Kobe Bryant, the kid. The book tells the story of how they came together, dominated the league, and ultimately collapsed under the weight of their egos. It’s incredibly well sourced and a must-read for NBA fans. In a way, it acts as a sort of spiritual sequel to The Last Dance, picking the league up and some of the main characters where the documentary series left off.

Because of the period it covers, it also serves as a biography of the first 26 years of Kobe Bryant’s life, from his childhood in Italy through his rape trial in Eagle, Colorado. While Shaq is the key to the team’s dominance on the court, Kobe is the key to understanding what was happening off the court and why this dominant team just couldn’t stay together. He is as arrogant and selfish as Shaq is out of shape, if not more so. If Shaq’s critical flaw is that he isn’t willing to put in the work in the off season to take care of his body and extend his prime, then Kobe’s critical flaw is that he would rather be the star of the team than work with Shaq to win.

I entered the book thinking that Shaq and Kobe were too different to coexist for longer than they did. I left it thinking that they were too similar — ultimately both men only wanted to win on their own terms. For Shaq, this meant enjoying life off the court; for Kobe, this meant being the star of the show with the ball in his hands. Both men expected to be the center of attention in his own way. Unlike MJ and Scottie, they never could manage to get beyond it for the greater good of the team.

The book’s greatest strength is the way that it tells this story for all of the characters that enter it. Del Harris is tactically brilliant, but unable to adapt his style to a new generation of players. Nick Van Excel has all the physical gifts, but he lets little slights from others convince him he’s unvalued. J.R. Rider has all the physical gifts, but can’t figure out the work habits of being a professional. The tension between one’s own strengths and flaws, the desire to do something special as a team and desire to shine as an individual are immensely relatable.

It’s impossible to read this book and not think of Kobe Bryant’s untimely death and the eulogizing that happened afterwards, particularly from other athletes. Even before the alleged rape (which the book strongly suggests should’ve resulted in a conviction), Kobe comes off particularly poorly. While Shaq’s flaws are relatable, Kobe comes off as arrogant to the point of being delusional and cruel to those less talented than he is. The question hanging over the book is, “How did this kid who everyone hated become that guy everyone loved?” That it is never answered is the book’s greatest flaw.

In the preface of the book, Pearlman tells the story of how the book was finished when Kobe’s shocking death happened. He goes out of his way to explain that who a person is from seventeen to twenty six isn’t the sum total of who they are to avoid the charge of speaking ill of the deceased. Answering the question of how and to what extent Kobe changed over the second half of his career would’ve led to a different book and it’s certainly certainly understandable why an author, having just completed a book as thoroughly researched as this one, wouldn’t be eager to start over. But as it is, the ending of the book feels incomplete, like it’s only part one. Despite this, I enjoyed the book immensely. Sign me up for a sequel.

[Giacomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

La storia di una squadra basata su due elementi: il talento fuori scala delle loro stelle (allenatore incluso) e il livello fuori scala della tossicità delle loro relazioni, che come in un tira e molla senza fine hanno consentito di dominare la lega anche ben più dei 3 titoli vinti. Questo sono stati quei Lakers.
Del resto vincere in nba è difficile, ripetersi in back to back è elitario, vincere 3 di seguito è solo per una ristrettissima cerchia (che negli ultimi 30 anni sia successo solo 3 volte tutte sotto lo stesso allenatore dovrebbe dirvi qualcosa dell'elemento sopra).
Ne esce fuori comunque un ritratto pietoso di persone iper-pagate, con degli atteggiamenti al limite tra il patetico e il ridicolo (bullismo, prepotenza, invidia, arroganza, megalomania voi pensate ad un aggettivo disqualificante e sara' ben rapptesentato in quegli anni) che dovrebbe far allontanare da questo sport/business e non avvicinarsi....eppure....
Eppure io questi Lakers me li son vissuti proprio per bene. Avevo 13 anni al loro primo titolo e avevo sofferto pesantemente per le eliminazioni degli anni precedenti. Ancora mi ricordo tutte le sensazioni, in particolare quelle della finale del 2001 contro i Sixers. Un amico di mio padre che aveva tele+ mi registrava le partite e me le vedevo il giorno dopo. Me le sarò divorate e poi scappavo al campetto con due amici a giocare e rifare le mosse di Bryant. Solo di Bryant, unicamente di Bryant. Si perché appena lo vidi nel 1998 fu amore a prima vista. Era troppo tutto per me a quell'epoca ed era giovane, abbastanza giovane da sentirlo vicino e da potermi identificare e soprattutto non era Jordan, non aveva quell'aura divina che circondava l'ultima stagione del 23, al limite del misticismo (qualità che però Bryant stesso acquisirà nel corso della sua carriera). Ovviamente non potevo sapere tutti i dettagli che ho letto e conosciuto dopo. Al tempo era solo una giovane superstar ipertalntuosa che volevo imitare. Il libro in questo senso non gli fa troppo torto. Nei commenti leggo troppe critiche all'autore e da fan della prima ora dei Lakers e di Kobe devo dissentire. Kobe era questo. Un ragazzino disfunzionale con problemi di crescita, un ego smisurato, una fiducia in sé stesso che sfociava nell'arroganza più estrema e un'etica del lavoro leggendaria. Questo ovviamente aveva dei benefici (la sua carriera) e dei lati negativi, come il risultare un bullo attaccabrighe con i deboli, salvo poi abbassare la testa appena qualcuno abbaiava un pochino più forte di lui. Il peggiore ed il migliore compagno di squadra possibile nella stessa persona. Uno da mandare dallo psicologo ma chissà se in quel caso avremmo avuto solo un giocatore normale anziché questo o uno forse migliore perché più in pace con sé stesso. Non lo sapremo mai. Comunque non è un ritratto mortificante o negativo ma solo veritiero, anzi meglio: umano. Smitizzandolo e evidenziando i suoi difetti Pearlman fa un favore a Bryant anziché penalizzarlo, lo rende uno stronzo qualunque il che, ai miei occhi, ha reso ri-leggere le sue imprese ancora più bello ed epico. Perché grattando la superficie dorata della memoria rimangono comunque delle gigantesche imprese sportive svolte nelle peggiori condizioni relazionali possibili.
Forza Lakers. Sempre.

[Abby Huette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing about the Lakers dynasty, so this was an informative read. I did feel that there was a lot of repetition in the description of the characters. Shaq was lovable but not driven. Kobe was narcissistic, socially inept, but extremely driven. I left the book with questions...was the author slanted against Kobe or was he really that difficult of a person/teammate? Did Shaq and Kobe reconcile post retirement? Did Kobe mature with age and become a more likable person? Was he deified in death by those who didn’t actually know him while those who did had no relationship with him?...I’d love to know more about the post dynasty years, so I was left wanting.

[John House · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you wanted to do a hit piece on Kobe, wouldn’t it have been more courageous to release it while he was still with us?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book disembowels everyone. It’s fantastic.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of gossip, mean, and hard to put down.

[Joe Ernst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easiest read I’ve had in a bit. Frobe was a douche, which I think deep down I knew.

[Cameron Beams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three-Ring Circus is a raw, uncut, well-written, and at times uncomfortable look inside of the late 1990s early 2000s Los Angeles Lakers dynasty. While well researched and comfortable with its intended tone, it at times can feel far more focused on one man and one man only, Kobe Bryant.

Pearlman (rightfully) places Kobe Bryant as one of the three essential characters in the writing of this book, as the trio of Bryant, Shaquille O' Neal, and Phil Jackson are unquestionably the three most influential individuals for this subject matter. I'll put this near our beginning so I can get it out of the way quickly, as it is quite the uncomfortable topic to broach. Kobe Bryant, despite being beloved by the majority of the basketball community, was possibly the farthest you could get from an ideal role model (at least at the time of the subject) and Pearlman portrays him in this piece as such. This is devastatingly uncomfortable not only due to the subject matter, but also because on January 26th, 2020, Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others passed away in a horrific helicopter crash in early hours of the day. It is simply impossible to discuss anything Bryant related, especially in a particularly negative light, without addressing such matters. Pearlman is well aware and acknowledges as such with the prologue of Three-Ring Circus. With that being said, I appreciate Pearlman committing to being an objective source and not letting a tragic accident gloss over any of what he was wanting to put pen to paper in this book. He goes into grave detail on matters of a young Bryant, which portrays as a very arrogant, self-indulged, unbelievably entitled, and at times comically self-unaware "man-child" as Three-Ring Circus commonly uses. Personality traits, while uncomfortable, do not come near the atrocity committed by Bryant however that is covered in the majority of the final third of this piece, which was the alleged sexual assault and rape committed by Kobe Bryant that took place in a Colorado hotel on a young woman. Pearlman is able to strongly put into words the repercussions the Lakers faced from such an act, which allows for a slightly less uncomfortable and more objective look into the true subject matter of the book. That is all I will say in relation to the case of Kobe Bryant.

Three-Ring Circus comes six years after the initial publishing of Pearlman acclaimed Showtime, and while there seems to be a stronger voice to the uniqueness of his writing, it takes a step back in enjoyment and quality on my end. This does not completely fall on deaf ears from Pearlman, as I do find him a very quality and compelling writer when he initiates any sort of stronger personality even in an objective piece as Three-Ring Circus, however sometimes it feels like it can be too rampant, or used to add a bit of lightheartedness into very tender and sore subjects when not entirely necessary. Its not like Pearlman had nothing to work with however, as there are spots sprinkled in that made me genuinely laugh as there are so many ridiculous and comical stories that come from this era of Lakers basketball. Golden stories that involve people like Shaq, Kobe, and Jackson, but also not so well known players like Mike Penberthy or Samaki Walker (the latter of which has a prominent part in the Bryant being a man-child narrative). Quotes and statements by third party sources feel organic as well as necessary where they're provided in the book, and sounds like the actual voice of the speaker because it needed to be there.

My largest gripe that comes with Three-Ring Circus is the feeling that a lot of books of this alley seem to fall into, that being it almost feels like its just a handful of topics repeated over, and over, and over again until we reach the conclusion. Without delving too much into spoiler territory with what Pearlman specifically cites, we can essentially boil down a good portion of this book being "Bryant is very unaware about how much of a dork he's being" or "Shaq has a big heart but he too can be quite the asshole." It gets rampant pretty quickly and provided a few moments where I felt like I'd have a better time just putting down the book for now and doing something else. This however cannot be a true downfall for this piece, as its pretty obvious that our main focus for this book is the dynamic of the three most essential members of this dynasty that are prominently portrayed on the front cover. The title Three-Ring Circus is a play on words after all, referencing the amount of championships this iteration of the Lakers won as well as the three focused members of said team.

I cannot conclude any review of Three-Ring Circus however without any commentary on how Phil Jackson is portrayed in the book, because this is one of my favorite insights on the coach's legacy I've read. Pearlman excellently establishes early on something that most Jackson related pieces fail to do as much as they should and establish that Phil Jackson at times could be quite the jerk. There are countless stories from sources especially within the Lakers organization of this time about the way Phil Jackson approached things and how they'd rather have a rock with a suit on rather than Phil Jackson himself. I believe Phil Jackson is an extraordinary coach as well as a good person despite what people see as an unorthodox way of approaching most subjects (especially basketball related) how Jackson does. A brilliant mind at times can wield not so brilliant treatment of anything going around it, and Pearlman demonstrates as such with his portrayal of Jackson in Three-Ring Circus and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

With that being said, Three-Ring Circus is for the most part a solid and insightful look inside certainly one of the most controversial dynasties in sports history, but falls short on some fronts for me. It seems to struggle keeping my attention as the reader without throwing in any random story of Bryant having zero self-awareness about how to approach an everyday matter, or a role player being turned away at the Staples Center turnstile because he didn't have any suits in his wardrobe. There seems to be an over reliance on controversial subject matters especially in the latter half of this team's run but can be excused as they truly were the main focus at the time and in retrospect for the most important individuals in the run. Pearlman puts forth a solid effort that doesn't quite reach the levels as some of his previous work, however will keep you entertained and engaged for the majority of Three-Ring Circus.

Rest in peace Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Ara Zobayan, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, and Payton Chester

Dates Read: 12/13/2024 - 12/16/2024

[Thao · Rating 5 out of 5]

[content warning: discussion of rape]

technically this book took me two years to finish…maybe it was the fact that i hate the lakers or the fact that a celtics fan i dated (he sucked) tried to reading this to me to fall asleep…i digress…

the first few chapters detailing the backstories and years leading up to the dynasty are a little slow which is reflective of the time itself. i picked this book back up after the luka trade and glad i did because when you get to the dynasty years themselves, you’ll zoom right through. the author was thoughtful and detailed in his research and work behind this book. i thought it was presented fairly factually with little quips here and there which were welcomed even if it came at my team’s demise (the 2000 WCF blazers v lakers chapters made me want to die a bit).

reading this book in 2025, you’ll realize the revisionist history around kobe’s legacy, specifically his rape case is actually insane. (karl malone being the only one who liked kobe during that time….hello?!!!) pearlman speaks to that aspect directly in the last paragraph of the book and for the most part, appreciate his handling of the case in the book and how directly he speaks to it.

i genuinely think this is a must read for a lot of basketball fans to reset the narrative. even as a blazers fan, i could enjoy this…the only people who won’t are weirdo rape apologists who have parasocial relationships with kobe. 4/4.5 but rating a 5 to compensate for the rape apologists.

[Tom Gase · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good, well-written, thoroughly reported book on the Los Angles Lakers from around 1996-2004 that featured Kobe, Shaq and later on Phil Jackson. Author Jeff Pearlman talks about every season and how the Lakers were able to get Kobe and Shaq in 1996 through the draft and free agency. Not only are the two superstars discussed, but you also hear great stories on players such as Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Glen Rice, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Byron Scott, J.R. Rider, Karl Malone and Gary Payton as well as many others I had forgotten were on the team once upon a time. All the feuds and NBA titles are discussed and yep, so is the Kobe Bryant rape case. What I got out of this book is during this time Shaq could sometimes be a tad lazy, but at least he was a good solid person and teammate. Kobe, eh, not as much. Hell of a player, but his ego was off the charts and wasn't a good teammate or person really, especially to rookies on his team. Pearlman has written other great books on Walter Payton, Brett Favre, the USFL, the 1990s Dallas Cowboys and the 1986 Mets. This book kind of feels like a sequel of sorts, because he wrote a very good book on the Lakers teams of the 1980s. But this one is even better. Good stuff once again.