Shaquille O’Neal posted a graphic on Instagram remembering and celebrating his old friend late Kobe Bryant on the Mamba’s 44th birthday.
Shaq has won three back-to-back NBA championships with the late Kobe Bryant. No questions about how dominant this duo was on the court with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers of early 2000 are regarded as one of the finest NBA teams ever because of Kobe and Shaq.
Shaq posted a picture of Kobe on Instagram as a tribute when he would have been 44 years old if he was alive. The NBA legend Kobe died of a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, which was very unfortunate and devastating for the NBA world and fans worldwide.
The former league elite died with his daughter Gigi Bryant, an aspiring basketball player along with seven others.
The 44th birth anniversary of Kobe’s birthday got NBA stars and fans all emotional as they gave tribute to the late star on social media.
Shaquille’s post caption says, “miss u big man”. Shaq’s son Shareef O’Neal was also very close to Bryant who had helped him recover and motivated him regularly to keep living his dreams. Shaq shared the graphic where the Mamba has wings and wearing his number 24 Lakers jersey.
Shaq played with Kobe for seven years and it is evident that O’Neal has only love for the late legend as he won three rings and shared unlimited memories with him.
During their tenure together, Shaq and Kobe played exceptionally well. In the three NBA Finals wins, Shaq was a monster with an average of 35.9 points with almost 60% from the floor along with 15.2 rebounds while Kobe ended with an impressive 22 points per game on 42% shooting and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Three rings and seven seasons in the same dressing room ended with Shaq moving to the Miami heat and united with Dwayne Wade.
Shaq and Kobe separated on a bad note but they both showed gratitude after their career and appreciated their times together as they achieved three championships with purple and gold.
Basketball fans are still remembering Kobe on August, 24 as an 8-24 day to celebrate the former NBA icon and all-time legendary Laker star.