Shaquille O’Neal, former NBA Star, was very close to the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. A recent helicopter crash killed Bryant and eight others. O’Neal and Bryant were as close as brothers. He was devastated by the tragedy and is still in mourning.
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Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant: The Brotherhood
O’Neal, 47, and Bryant, 41, played together for eight seasons (1996 to 2004) as a dynamic duo for the Los Angeles Lakers. Together, they won three consecutive NBA Championships (2000, 2001, 2002) and made an NBA Finals appearance in 2004.
When the news of Bryant’s death came out, Shaquille was devastated.
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There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother @kobebryant I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW pic.twitter.com/pigHywq3c1
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 26, 2020
O’Neal spoke about the losses of both his sibling and Bryant during a recent episode of his podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“I’m not doing well, I’m sick. I’m just getting over the death of my sister and I haven’t been sleeping after Ayesha’s death,” he said. “You know, not thinking about the good times but thinking about those times where I could’ve did something or could’ve did something different. Or could’ve loved them more.”
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Ayesha Harrison-Jex, O’Neal’s sister, died back in October 2019 due to cancer.
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O’Neal added, “When I found out this news, I couldn’t do anything. I haven’t eaten, I haven’t slept. I’m sick right now.”
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O’Neal Gives a Big Thanks To a Fan
Recently, Shaquille met a fan at Best Buy, an electronics retail company.When the fan offered his condolences, O’Neal bought him a laptop. Patrick Martin, the fan, offered his condolences to O’Neal and walked off. The fan wrote in a Facebook post that has since gone viral,
“So me and Mo just went to Best Buy to buy a laptop and we meet Shaq. We gave our condolences for his sister and Kobe. We walked off, then Shaq comes to us and says, ‘I like ya’ll, so get the nicest one in here and I’ll pay for it,’ ” The post was sent to PEOPLE by Best Buy.
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