Copyright Men's Journal
It’s been more than five years since Kobe Bryant’s tragic death, and over two decades since he and Shaquille O’Neal teamed up together with the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, Bryant’s presence lives on in O’Neal’s mind, even in his dreams. During a recent conversation with PEOPLE, O’Neal revealed that he recently dreamed about his days teaming up with Bryant, with whom he led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles from 2000-02. “If I lay there the first five minutes, I don’t go to sleep, then I just start dreaming, and last night I was dreaming about me and Kobe and all the championships we won,” O’Neal said. “I just replayed and recreated us riding in the parade and just having good times. Before I knew it, it was 9 a.m.” As potent a duo as Bryant and O’Neal were on the court together, their relationship was at times adversarial during their rung as teammates. Still, the pair clearly had plenty of respect and admiration for each other, which Shaq continues to show following Bryant’s passing. O’Neal’s relationship with Kobe’s family continues Kobe Bryant was killed in a tragic helicopter accident in Calabasas, California in January 2020. His daughter Gianna and several of her travel basketball teammates also died in the crash. Earlier this year, Shaq revealed that he still keeps in touch with Bryant’s sisters, Sharia and Shaya, as well as his mother, Pam. “I always check in on Kobe’s mom. I check in on his mom once a month, make sure she’s okay,” he said. “Their mom has been through a lot in a couple of years, and that takes a toll, and sometimes you just need somebody to just call to check on you,” O’Neal added. “I kind of know what it feels like with the passing of her son, but I don’t know what it feels like to lose a son and a husband, so I’m sure she has a lot of pain that she’s dealing with.” Two Lakers legends forever linked In addition to remaining in contact with Bryant’s family, O’Neal protected his former running mate’s basketball legacy recently as well. When Bleacher Report ranked Kobe No. 11 on its list of the top 100 players in NBA history over the summer, O’Neal voiced his disapproval. “Kobe at 11 is criminal,” he wrote. Shaq himself checked in at No. 6 in the rankings, in between Bill Russell and Tim Duncan
