“My nephew showed me the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash news and I snapped at him”: Shaquille O’Neal tearfully narrated the effect of the impact of the Black Mamba’s death on MDE and his family

There may never be a sporting duo who were anywhere close to as dominant together as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

The Los Angeles Lakers were really blessed to a degree that the fans may never reach again in the foreseeable future. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, true hoops fans were tuning in to watch every single Lakers game.

They were the primetime sports show of the time, even ahead of the NFL at times. While many NBA onlookers expected a sharp drop-off in popularity for the league after Michael Jordan retired, the Kobe-and-Shaq duo single-handedly kept a ton of viewers tuned into the league.

There really was no stopping either player on the court. You could send double- and triple-teams at either player with practically no effect on their effectiveness.

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Nearly 16 years after they played their final games on the same team, Kobe passed away in one of the most untimely celebrity deaths we’ve seen around – through a helicopter crash.

Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t quite compose himself in the wake of Kobe Bryant dying

Through my nearly 27 years of life, I’ve never seen a celebrity death quite like that of the Black Mamba. There may not have been a single person who knew of Kobe’s brilliance who didn’t inwardly mourn his death.

Copious amounts of tears have flooded basketball fans’ eyes in the 2+ years since that incident. They probably continue to do so for Shaquille O’Neal, who may have understood Kobe better than everyone else on the planet.

TNT held an emergency broadcast in the wake of the Lakers legend’s death at the time. And on the panel, Shaquille O’Neal tried his level best to keep his calm and composure in the midst of tragedy. He began speaking about the circumstances in which he learned of Kobe’s death:

“The other day, I’m downstairs working out with my son Shakir and my nephew Columbus. And my nephew comes in crying, and he showed me his phone. I snapped at him, saying ‘Get out of my face! Get it away!'”

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Even the big-hearted, gregarious mountain of a man Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t quite keep his emotions in check on air. It was the kind of sadness that consumed all basketball fans immensely at the time. And none more so than the best teammate Kobe Bryant had ever had.