Don Imus isn’t the only one saying he didn’t mean literally what he said.

Shaquille O’Neal is explaining that his freestyle rap in a New York nightspot over the weekend, in which the Phoenix Suns' center ridicules Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, was essentially all just in fun.

O’Neal’s rap, which surfaced yesterday on TMZ.com, started out with, “You know how I be. Last week Kobe couldn't do without me.” The two, who won championships as teammates in L.A., have feuded intermittently for years.

After that opening salvo about the Lakers’ loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals, the lyrics got a bit tougher. O’Neal explains he was simply entertaining within the normal boundaries of freestyle rap and “if I hurt anyone's feelings, I apologize.”

An edited version of the rap is part of this ESPN report.