It’s been 20 years since Shaq and Kobe were a thing on court but it’s hard for us to forget that era. The Lakers dynasty was thrilling during Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s partnership for their on-court chemistry and off-court tension. Then O’Neal left on bitter terms and we had serious withdrawal symptoms of the best duo ever in the NBA. Yet nothing could prepare us for the true depth of their tense friendship until Shaq was mourning Kobe’s loss. Four years on, Bryant’s former teammate still holds a lot of regret.

While promoting the launch of the Shaq-a-Licous Gummies, O’Neal got emotional talking about Bryant in an interview. He gave a “shoutout” to the family as Bryant’s father, Joe Bryant passed away last month. O’Neal has been checking in on Kobe’s mother, Pam, and his sisters. But he confessed, “It’s hard.”

During TNT’s tribute to Kobe Bryant in 2020, O’Neal said, “I wish I could say something to him again.” It’s a sentiment he’s repeated many times. Shaq’s new principle stemmed from this regret.

“I always tell people … we’re petty, we’ll argue about something, and won’t talk to the person for four-five-six years. So my advice is, hey, one of your old home boys you ain’t holler at, shoot them a text. One of your old girlfriends that you haven’t talked to, shoot her a text, tell her you miss her, let’s get this thing cracking,” is O’Neal’s advice to anyone who’s been in his and Bryant’s place. “Because when you’re gone you’re going forever.”

It hasn’t been easy for Shaq to come to grips with Kobe’s loss. Time and again, his words and actions prove it.

Shaq and Kobe’s reconciliation was too little too late

Shaquille O’Neal was estranged from Bryant but the latter remained close to his family. Both Lakers legends had one common personal connection that bound them – Shaq’s youngest Me’Arah and Kobe’s daughter, Gianna were born on the same day, May 1, 2006 minutes apart. Kobe and Gigi were at Meezy’s game a day before they passed away, and Shaq’s daughter was among the last people to meet them.

Shaq’s kids informed him about the helicopter tragedy but he dismissed it as a hoax. It took his ex-wife, Shaunie, to confirm that Kobe and Gigi had passed. In a subsequent interview, O’Neal said that finding out the news still “haunts” him. Another time, he kept repeating, “I should have called, he should have called, we both should have called,” and urged people to call their loved ones no matter how much time has passed without contact.

They were a duo for almost a decade, three-peated in the early ’00s, and traded barbs through the media during their overlapping careers. But after Bryant’s retirement, they mended fences and were seen in public more often like the unveiling of Shaq’s statue and his hall of fame induction. Yet O’Neal shows that there was so much unsaid between them that he has to live with.

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