NBA icon Rick Fox has revealed the secret behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ fabled three-peat run.

Fox, 54, said Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the rest of that triumphant Lakers team demanded nothing but excellence from each other, even if it required some “ungraceful communication.”

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NBA icon Rick Fox has said the three-peat Los Angeles Lakers were special because of their unapologetic pursuit of excellenceCredit: Getty

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Fox (17) said the early 2000s Lakers allowed for ‘ungraceful communication’ to exist on the team, demanding maximum effort from each other during the three-peat runCredit: Getty
Having joined Los Angeles in 1997 after a six-year stint with the Boston Celtics, Fox served as one of the leaders of the supporting cast behind O’Neal and Bryant.

Unselfish and hugely competitive, the 6-foot-7 forward fit well on the physical and gritty early 2000s Lakers, who never backed down from a fight.

They scrapped with opponents — most notably the Sacramento Kings — as well as themselves on the way to three-peat glory with Shaq and Kobe infamously feuding during the stellar run.

Recalling his time playing with the All-Star duo, Fox said the Lakers were “obsessed with challenging each other” and that no one on the team would get away with anything other than maximum effort.

“It’s why you saw so much of the challenge between Shaq and Kobe,” the NBA icon told The U.S. Sun.

“You saw so much of the challenge amongst even the rest of the supporting cast. We pushed the big guys, Shaq and Kobe, just as hard as they pushed us.

” I think the important thing that made us great is that we allowed for ungraceful communication to exist in our team environment as long as it was [so] we were pushing each other to the best version of ourselves individually and collectively.

“And so at times, it looked was looking like we were feuding amongst ourselves or fighting, but what we were really doing was demanding nothing but excellence from each other.”

Fox now battles battle climate change with his start-up Partanna, trying to phase out standard concrete and replace it with the company’s cement-less alternative that can suck CO2 out of the air.

And he approaches his mission with the same mindset that characterized his career and the Lakers’ three-peat quest.

“I push our team to the heights that are uncomfortable and push us to be the better version of ourselves every day, individually and collectively as a company,” he said.

“And I ask for permission to do that all the time, to be ungraceful and to be demanding of excellence.”

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Fox won three straight NBA championships with Bryant (left) and O’Neal (center) between 2000-2002Credit: Getty
“And we’re, we’re accomplishing that excellence at our company because of that — because we believe we can be great.”

Fox emphasized O’Neal and Bryant’s impact on his Partanna venture — and his life in general.

He said the unapologetic pursuit of excellence he embraced by their side drives his desire to change the world.

“We did a lot together and I love them. I love them dearly,” the three-time NBA champion said.

“I’m grateful for them. I always say I have the life I have because the two of them were in my life.

“We did amazing things together. And I owe them… I owe concrete to them.

“I owe everything to them because they were beyond average. They were the greatest to play the game.”