Shaquille O'Neal will be inducted to the Basketball Hall of fame this year together with other fellow greats, Yao Ming and Allen Iverson. It is one of the more celebrated classes in recent memory because of the these three headlining it.

But even as big as this development is, one player did not congratulate “The Big Aristotle” for quite some time. When asked by reporters during the day on Thursday if he had heard from his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant yet, Shaq had this to say (via Bill Oram of the OC Register):

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The dynamic duo won three consecutive championships in the early 2000s. They ruled the NBA from 2001-2003 and were unstoppable together with their role-player teammates. But just after they won their third title together, the team's top brass were forced to break the two apart as a result of a much publicized feud. O'Neal went on to win another title with the Miami Heat while Bryant won two more with the Lakers.

The two have both claimed that they have moved on from their past issues and said it was only brought by them being naturally competitive. It can be even recalled that during the LSU product's jersey retirement, Bryant gave a video message for him and Shaq returned the favor watching the Black Mamba play his last game live.

The 7-1 center and soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer did eventually hear from his former teammate. If one thing is certain, the chatter about their differences will forever live on.