It's no secret that Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were not the best of friends during their time together as teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, it's also widely known that Shaq was able to bury the hatchet with Kobe years later, and these two icons became very close after their time in the NBA.
This is exactly why Shaq was completely heartbroken when his friend shockingly passed away in a tragic helicopter accident nearly three years ago. It was a tough pill to swallow for basketball fans, and it was an undeniably harrowing experience for those who knew Kobe when he was still with us.
Shaq took it hard. To this very day, he still speaks with sadness whenever he recalls his relationship with his former Lakers teammate. According to O'Neal, one of the biggest regrets he will forever hold in his heart is how he wasn't able to reach out to Bryant when he still had the chance:
“You put off [getting in touch],” O'Neal tells PEOPLE in an upcoming issue. “I'll never get to see Kobe again, in real life, forever. And I just should have called. He should have called. We both should have called. But he's working, I'm working, so it's ‘I'll see you when I see you.' ”
For most of us, life gets in the way of keeping in touch with our friends. We always just assume that they'll be around anyway, so we can just reach out when we're not too busy anymore. Apparently, this was also the case for Shaq and his relationship with Kobe. Unfortunately for him, Shaq's decision to put off a simple phone call with his buddy is one he will never be able to make up for.
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