With the Hall of Fame ceremony nearing, more and more details about Shaquille O'Neal‘s career are coming to light.
In an interview with Serena Winters of Lakers Nation, Shaq revealed that newly-retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant once told him he was going to be “the Will Smith of the NBA.”
Shaq talking about young Kobe in his interview tonight on @NBATV:
"He told me one time he was going to be the Will Smith of the NBA.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) September 7, 2016
Now, as foreshadowing may have it, Bryant did indeed run a one-man show in parts of his career, the same way ‘The Fresh Prince' did at Bel-Air Academy.
Article Continues BelowDuring his last championship efforts, Phil Jackson took a page out of coach Smiley's playbook and ran “pass it to Will” to absolute perfection, earning him and Bryant their fifth ring with the Lakers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEwISZdTS5U&t=9m34s
A Philadelphia native, it was only fitting that Bryant picked the one character who went from West Philly to L.A. to eke out a living.
Oh, the memories.