Shaquille O’Neal’s Heartwarming Tribute To Kobe Bryant Encapsulates Standout Memories Of Time Together On Mamba’s Birthday

LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant unfortunately expired on 26^th January 2020. Born in 1978, Bryant would have been 45 years old today. On the occasion, his former teammate and friend Shaquille O’Neal re-shared a heartwarming clip. Initially posted by Shaqwithme, the video featured a series of pictures of the two stars together during their playing days.

Winners of consecutive championships from 2000-02, the two formed one of the most fearsome duos in the history of the NBA. O’Neal eventually left in 2004, winning another championship during his time with the Miami Heat. While they had their issues during this time, the two made a plethora of memories together, something Shaq’s post also proves.

Shaquille O’Neal posts heartwarming video on Kobe Bryant’s 45^th birthday

Set against the backdrop of Marvin Sapp’s Perfect Peace, Shaqwithme shared a lengthy video featuring a series of pictures of Kobe and Shaq together. While most images were from their playing days, quite a few were of their meetings once Shaq retired.

The two players are often said to be the most fearsome duo in the history of the league. While Shaq and Kobe initially had issues off the court, they eventually grew past them and became close friends. While they might not have been utterly fond of each other initially, the two had the utmost respect for each other’s games.

Shaq pays tribute to Kobe on Mamba Day pic.twitter.com/CGpqhnTkjD

— NewsMan (@WhenInDoubt4242) August 23, 2023

Considering it would have been Kobe’s 45^th birthday, O’Neal was obviously immersed in a lot of emotion. He ended up sharing the post on his Instagram story, seemingly relishing the memories he made with his fellow Lakers legend.

 

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A post shared by Shaq (@shaqwithme)

The post was eventually shared by Newsman on Twitter. A range of fans also responded to the heartwarming post and were happy to see Shaq showing love for arguably his greatest-ever teammate – Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O’Neal posted a similar Instagram story on Bryant’s 42^nd birthday

Back in 2020, just months after Bryant’s unfortunate death, Shaq posted a similar tribute on Instagram. O’Neal posted a video showing some of their most memorable highlights together. He also posted the following caption:

“They couldn’t stop the REIGN.”

 

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A post shared by DR. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL Ed.D. (@shaq)

Apart from being a fearsome duo, they were also two of the highest-paid players in the NBA. The two combined almost made $40 million per year. O’Neal was paid more until he decided to leave, in 2004. One of the reasons why he left is said to be the Lakers’ inability to respond to his demands.