“Need to Save This Kobe Bryant Memorial!”: Shaquille O’Neal Raises Awareness for Vanessa Bryant’s Petition to Save Kobe and GiGi Mural

The tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and Gigi Bryant shocked the basketball world on the 26th of January, 2020, when a helicopter carrying the two, crashed in Calabasas, California. Many fans paid tribute to the Lakers legend and Gigi by painting beautiful murals of the duo all around the world. One such mural is now under threat, as the piece is going to be painted over. Kobe’s wife and Gigi’s mother Vanessa Bryant has brought the issue to the attention of the public by starting a petition to stop the desecration of the artwork.

Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant’s former Los Angeles Lakers teammate, and dear friend, has recently shared the story on his Instagram, in an attempt to spread awareness around the incident, urging people to help out. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant won three Championships together during their stint with the Lakers.

Though they had chemistry on the court, outside the court the duo weren’t exactly best buddies. They often made headlines due to their infamous public feud that transpired at the time. But the duo finally squashed the beef after their retirement from the NBA, with Shaq even referring to Kobe as his little brother.

Shaquille O’Neal spreads awareness about possible threat to a Kobe Bryant mural

A beautiful mural that was created in the memory of Kobe Bryant and his beloved daughter Gigi is now facing the threat of being painted over. In response, Vanessa Bryant has launched a petition on Change.org, to prevent that from happening. The mural is located in Los Angeles, the city that Kobe dedicated his entire career to.

Shaquille O’Neal, who has 32.4 million followers, took to his Instagram to inform people of the petition. Shaq shared an Instagram reel on his stories that detailed the incident. The post said, “We need to save this Kobe [Bryant] memorial. This is painted on the side of a fitness building, who gave Kobe’s wife a notice that it has to be painted over by September 30th…”

The mural depicts Kobe and Gigi in heaven after the accident. In the beautiful rendition, both of them have Angel wings and are looking at each other lovingly.

Shaq lost sleep over Kobe’s death

The Diesel is one the toughest and strongest players to ever grace the hardwood. But when it comes to matters of the heart, O’Neal is known to be the softest and kindest.

The death of Kobe brought a great deal of sadness to the gentle giant. Shaq was already grieving the death of his little sister, who had just died of cancer. The news of Kobe and Gigi’s passing put the big man into a bigger hole than he was before. The Twitter handle NBA Buzz even reported Shaq saying ” I don’t go to bed ‘till 5 AM… ever since Kobe & my sister died, I can’t sleep.”  We all can empathize with Shaq’s feelings, as the world will never feel complete without No.24.