Shaquille O’Neal took it upon himself to stay in touch with Kobe Bryant’s family following his former teammate’s passing in 2020. More specifically, his mother, Pam, gets checked up on by Shaq on a fairly regular basis. In honor of Kobe’s birthday and 8/24 Day, he did so once again while also giving her a gift in the form of a restored family car of hers.
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“I’m really close with his mother now. We talk all the time. ‘Cus I know her pain. But I just call her, just to check on her. See if she needs anything. Flowers. ‘Love you’. ‘Miss you’. Stuff like that,” said Shaq on the ‘Off The Record’ podcast.
Fast-forward to today and O’Neal is making sure he does right by Pam on her son’s birthday. He employed his friends at Effortless Motors to restore a family car of the Bryants’ that Kobe drove while he was in high school.
A 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser usually goes for around $9000 nowadays according to Google. Anthony Hall, Shaq’s friend, spoke on the restoration to the Land Cruiser.
“One time Shaquille went over to her house and saw this vehicle in the front and he asked Ma Bryant about whose vehicle that was. She said that was a vehicle Kobe drove when he was in high school. It was in really bad shape.”
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It’s unclear how much the restoration cost but whatever the bill was, it’s safe to assume Shaq fronted it. Pam’s reaction to the gift was not documented but once more, the assumption is that the gesture was met with a great deal of appreciation and reciprocal love.
Shaq’s love for Kobe has been established over the years with the ‘Big Aristotle’ coming out and saying their feud has been greatly exaggerated over the years. “We had a highly respectable relationship. Drama sells. A lot of people think our relationship was something else but it wasn’t.”
Given O’Neal’s adoration for the Bryant family, it made sense that he went to Effortless Motors for the job. They’ve done quite a few custom jobs for the Lakers legend. Most of his Hellcats and Dodge Chargers with custom widebody builds have been worked on by Effortless.
