Former Los Angeles Lakers stars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s relationship have gone through its fair share of ups and down. Despite having played for the same team for a brief period of time, the two NBA legends were not on the same page for most of the time. However, the duo still managed to lead their team to a three-peat.

Fortunately, their bittersweet relationship gradually dissipated over the course of time. After Kobe passed away, Shaquille said in an interview with CBS that he and Kobe had mutual respect for each other. Additionally, Shaq said that he regretted not communicating more with Kobe.

Evidently, not just Shaq, but the four-time NBA champion’s son Shareef O’Neal too, had immense respect for Kobe. In contrast to Shaq’s relationship with Kobe, which included constant feuds, Shareef actually looked up to Kobe. The Black Mamba was Shareef’s mentor and would often meet up for training sessions.

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During a short chat with TMZ Sports in 2016, Shareef O’Neal revealed that he was in regular touch with Kobe. Furthermore, Shareef added that they might start training soon, possibly over the summer.

Shareef O’Neal turns to Kobe Bryant for practice sessions

Shareef O’Neal said that Kobe Bryant approached him after the 2016 NBA All-Star game and had offered to train him. To hear more from the Black Mamba himself, TMZ Sports relayed to the NBA star what Shareef had said. Kobe, who was recently retired at that time, confirmed that they were indeed going to train together. Furthermore, the reporter asked Kobe if he was going to teach Shareef his dad, Shaquille O’Neal’s game, or his. In response, the former Los Angeles Lakers star said that he would teach his game style to Shareef.

When Kobe passed away, Shareef said that Kobe had taught him to always be the best version of himself and to work harder than others.

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“He just told me to always be the best I can be. Always try hard and always try to work harder than everyone else ’cause every day you take off, there’s always people trying to get better.” said Shareef to TMZ.

Furthermore, Shareef had taken to social media to share pictures of his shoes inscribed with short messages. The messages were reportedly from Kobe and Shareef’s text exchanges, which Shareef had scribbled on his sneakers.

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If not for the unfortunate incident, do you think Kobe could have trained Shareef to be one of the best in the league? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!