On Sunday morning, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant responded to Shareef O'Neal's Instagram story. Shareef — the 20-year-old son of another Lakers legend and Bryant's close friend Shaquille O'Neal — has developed a relationship with the Black Mamba whom he refers to as “uncle.”
Just a few hours after their casual exchange of messages on social media, Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were reported dead after a fatal helicopter crash near Calabasas, California.
Much like the rest of the world, the young O'Neal was taken aback by the tragic development and took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the family of the Lakers great.
https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/1221519314114633728
https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/1221538599549562882
Shareef then shared the conversation he had with Bryant just a few hours before his untimely passing. The five-time NBA champion with the Lakers checked up on him by asking “You good fam?” in regards to the news of Shareef ‘s departure from UCLA.
Shareef responded with two messages, with the last one asking “How you been?”
https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/1221531785273569280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1221531785273569280&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fshaq-shareef-oneal-shares-direct-messages-with-kobe-bryant-before-death-helicopter-crash-213758707.html
Shareef also shared a photo of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game MVP plaque, where his father and Bryant were named co-MVP's of the game. Turns out, Bryant told O'Neal to take the trophy home with him after the game, which he then gave to a young Shareef.
https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/1221636352371908608
Once heralded as one of the best one-two punch combinations the league has ever seen, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal had a falling out in 2004. The pair would eventually reconcile and have remained good friends after both stepping away from the game.
Bryant even once offered to mentor Shaq's son Shareef, who is expected to make it to the league in the coming years.
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