Did Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant Bond Over Being Girl Dads During Rocky Laker Days? NBA’s Big Man Reveals

Published 01/26/2024, 9:34 AM EST

The late, great Kobe Bryant took great pride in being a girl dad. His partner-in-crime during the LA Lakers three-peat Shaquille O’Neal is also a doting father to his six kids. So, did the two stalwarts of basketball bond over fatherhood during their time in LA?

Shaq, during his recent conversation on the Dear Fathers Podcast, was asked about it. The Big Man said that the two sure bonded over their shared love for basketball, but surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of fatherhood talk involved.

Shaquille O’Neal talks about his parenting inspirations

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Shaq said, “To each his own. I’m following the hierarchy that my parents left me. Mine is to have discipline. Especially with me being in and out all the time, I was more like the play toy when I got home.” The Big Man understood from the very beginning that he would not get as much time as he would’ve wanted with his kids. So, to compensate for that, he took the fun parent route, whenever he was around his kids, the O’Neal household was the dreamland for his kids.

As for his talks with Kobe, he said, “We come, we stay two-three hours. It’s all basketball and practice. We don’t really get into personal and stuff like that.” However, this doesn’t mean that Shaq didn’t look up to anyone with regard to parenting. In fact, he has quite a few people from whom he learned a lot from. He said, “I have access to a million grand wizards. My aunt Viv is an expert, my mom is an expert, my grandma is an expert, my uncle Mike is an expert, grandma Cher is an expert. So I have a lot of people that I watch.”

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Shaq also spilled some details on the things he learned from all these people. From holding a baby to knowing where to place his hand, the Big Man soaked all the wisdom from the people in his family. Going by the way his kids adore him, even when they’re grown-ups, it’s safe to say that Shaq did an amazing job at it.

Father of 6 Shaquille O’Neal Didn’t Want to Have Daughters Before Big Change of Heart

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As for the late Mamba, his being a girl dad was the honor he was the proudest of. Nothing mattered more to Kobe than his family, especially his girls. So even though the championship-winning duo didn’t talk a lot about being fathers, they both shone in fatherhood in their own unique ways.

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My introduction to basketball was through Kobe Bryant. Soon enough, I was hooked to his game and although I started with being a fan of his, I also became a fan of basketball. To this day, Kobe remains my reference and guide as I try to navigate through life.

Edited by:

Caroline Joseph

Did Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant Bond Over Being Girl Dads During Rocky Laker Days? NBA’s Big Man Reveals

Shaquille O’Neal talks about his parenting inspirations

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