By Mike Parrott
Shaquille O'Neal gave heartbreaking tribute to his former friend and legendary teammate Kobe Bryant after his recent passing. Shaq & Kobe were arguably the most dominant duo in NBA history when they played together for the LA Lakers.
In regards to NBA history, there are a few defining eras in the sport. The Bill Russell Boston Celtics in the 1960's, the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird rivalry in the 80's, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the 90's and after that was Shaq and Kobe for the Lakers.
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Both Shaq and Kobe joined the Lakers in the same Summer of 1996 with O'Neal signing as a Free-Agent from the Orlando Magic on an incredible seven-year deal worth $120 Million.
While Kobe was acquired in a draft-day trade from the Charlotte Hornets who drafted Bryant 13th.
The duo became the dominant force in the NBA post-Jordan with the Lakers making four separate appearances in the NBA Finals from 2000 to 2004, winning three of them in a row.
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The Laker greats are also to credit for some of the biggest moments in NBA history, including the famous Kobe-Shaq Alley-oop in the 2000 Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.
They became, and still are the third team to win a "three-peat" behind the Celtics of the 60's and the Bulls of the 90's.
O'Neal who now works as a Studio Analyst for TNT and specifically their Inside the NBA segment with other former NBA Players such as Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, broadcast a special tribute feature to Bryant yesterday.
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Joined by NBA legend, Dwyane Wade, each analyst told stories of Kobe about their individual experiences with the Black Mamba, but Shaq's hit the hardest.
O'Neal recently lost his Sister as well to Cancer in October 2019 and said that losing Kobe was comparable and that he'll deeply miss the opportunity to joke and laugh with Kobe at his upcoming Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
"The fact that we're not going to be able to joke at his Hall of Fame ceremony, we're not going to be able to say, 'Hi, I've got five (rings), you've got four,' the fact that we're not going to say if we'd stayed together we could have got 10, those are the things you can't get back."
Kobe and Shaq infamously had one of the biggest breakups in sport history when O'Neal demanded to be traded from the Lakers in 2004. O'Neal ended up at the Miami Heat the same year in which he won an NBA Championship with in 2006.
Both Kobe's jerseys of 8 and 24, and Shaq's 34 are retired for the Lakers and are currently hung up in the Staples Center, and it wouldn't be a surprise if Kobe gets a statue to accompany O'Neal's current statue at the Staples Center.
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