Interesting bit of silly drama.

Shaquille O’Neal can say what he wants about Kobe Bryant. I have no problem with that. If he wants to stand up at what amounts to “open mike” night at a club in New York, well, get busy. (And you can read the news story and watch the bleeped-over video here.)

I don’t condemn him in the least for vulgarity or poor taste. Everyone is entitled to that, in that sort of environment. Might even be expected, in the spot he was at.

(The Maricopa County sheriff wanting those honorary badges back seems a bit much.)

But I do wonder if some of the things he said aren’t a window to how he honestly feels about several NBA players.

Starting with Kobe.

How threatened by Kobe does Shaq feel? Pretty massively threatened. We thought that when they played together. Even when Shaq was in his prime and clearly was the focal point of the team and Kobe was the sidekick.

Now that the roles have switched, and Kobe has as many MVP trophies (one) as does Shaq, and Shaq is little more than a sideshow with the Phoenix Suns, who left the playoffs in the first round … while Kobe came within two victories of the NBA title … I’m thinking Shaq’s sense of inadequacy (and it sounds crazy, but I think that’s what it is) is percolating out.

Nobody gives themselves as many vainglorious nicknames (The Most Dominant Ever, The Big Fill In The Blank) as did Shaq without rather broadly suggesting that he worries that the rest of us need to be reminded of how good he is. While he reminds himself.

I’m gonna shrink the guy’s head from a distance and suggest Shaq also knew he was a relentlessly inelegant player in a league of balletomanes. His effective shooting range was about three feet-and-in, he never had much “game” (unless dunking is “game”) and considering he’s a 7-footer, he didn’t really play far above the rim — and mostly plays below it, now.

I believe he recognized all that. And it gnaws at him. He was dominant simply because of his size. Not because of his drop step or skyhook or crossover dribble or dead-eyed shooting. And when you’re smart enough to recognize that, and Shaq certainly is, how can it not breed anything but a sense of not being good enough?

Kobe is everything Shaq is not, for good or ill. Kobe isn’t as fun. He isn’t as human. He doesn’t much care if you like him. He is hard. Shaq wants everyone to have a good time. His shortcomings are there for everyone to see (starting with his free-throw shooting). He wants to be loved. And he is surprisingly easy to wound.

Kobe is, I believe, over him. But Shaq is not over Kobe.

(And does it strike anyone else as interesting that the last time Kobe got to the Finals, with Shaq, in 2004 … that they flamed out in five games? Kobe needs more than The Big Stiff to win a title, it would seem.)

Another telling bit? When Shaq pretty overtly blames Kobe for the breakup of his marriage. This goes back to Kobe’s rambling interview with Colorado authorities after the rape arrest in 2003 … when Kobe apparently told his interviewers that Shaq paid women to stay quiet about extramarital affairs.

That “ratting out” is what damaged Kobe’s reputation in the eyes of his fellow players and, clearly, still is an issue in Shaq’s mind. Even if he underestimates his wife’s powers of observation if he thinks that only because of Kobe’s statements that his wife became suspicious of him.

There seems to be a sort of broad brush Shaq is applying to Kobe. Not only does he try to steal Shaq’s thunder, his blathering to the Colorado authorities is costing him tens of millions in the pending divorce. Hmm. Convenient to have someone to blame everything for.

Two other bits of the shtick were almost as curious, to me — the derogatory references to Patrick Ewing and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Neither of whom should think they are “better than” Shaq, by his reckoning.

Ewing is a sort of paper tiger. He never won a title, so why is Shaq talking about him? Because he’s in New York, where Ewing played? Because he was a 7-footer with superior hand-eye coordination who actually could shoot a jumper, and Shaq could not?

And Kareem? What did Kareem do to Shaq — aside from score a ton more points and win more championships? Totally different sort of player, willowy and finesse-oriented. Guys who really shouldn’t be compared aside, I suppose, from results. And Kareem produced more of those.

It’s almost as if Shaquille O’Neal already is worried about his place in the NBA pantheon, and those worries came tumbling out as he blathered on before a small crowd — and at least one video device.

Ultimately, it’s about a guy at the end of his career … talking about a guy who might still win a championship or three. And insisting that his contributions be remembered. First and foremost.

Interesting stuff.