Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant reached 40 years of age on Thursday. If there is one person who knows the Black Mamba well, it's his former teammate and long-time friend, Shaquille O'Neal. As most hoops fans know, these two basically wrecked the league from 2000 to 2002. In fact, they won three straight championships together in that span.

Bryant and O'Neal joined the Lakers before the 1996-97 season. O'Neal had just left the Orlando Magic as a free agent. Bryant was acquired in a draft-day trade with the Charlotte Hornets. Though they had their differences at times, they managed to captivate the basketball world with their on-court abilities. It was “The Kobe and Shaq Show,” and we couldn't get enough.

Staying true to his humorous nature, Shaq decided to send out a cheeky happy birthday message to Bryant on his Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm0o33sHgVQ/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1bnzmonlw4e4l

When it comes to all-time Lakers greats, Bryant's name must be mentioned at the top of the list. The 18-time All-Star played 20 seasons with Los Angeles. Along the way, he earned a total of five NBA championships, 11 All-NBA First Team nods, nine All-NBA Defensive First Team selections, and two scoring titles (2006 and 2007). It must also be noted that both of his jerseys — #8 and #24 — have now been retired by the Lakers.

Simply put, Bryant's career numbers are impressive. In a whopping 1,346 games played, the former 13th overall pick racked up averages of 25.0 points on 44.7 percent shooting from the field (32.9 percent from beyond the arc), 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 36.1 minutes per outing.

Join us in wishing Bryant a happy 40th birthday!