With all eyes fixated on how Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal would react to one another Monday, the two former teammates finally showed a public display of affection.
In a symbolic gesture, Bryant and O'Neal let bygones be bygones and buried the hatchet on their running feud.
It could be a coincidence that O'Neal, who once referred to Bryant as "a little brother," chose Martin Luther King's birthday to extend a hand of forgiveness, but nevertheless, it was a classy act.
Since O'Neal's exodus to Miami, he has refused to shake hands or even acknowledge Bryant after the NBA's leading scorer alleged, in a police interview during his legal troubles, that O'Neal has a history of infidelity.
There had not been this much buzz surrounding two opponents since the Lakers and Celtics faced off throughout the 1980s.
But with the two no longer enemies, it takes the air out of the rivalry, and some of the drama and intrigue out of the NBA.
