Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the most successful duos in NBA history. The pair played together for eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996-2004.
But they didn’t always see eye to eye.
After O’Neal moved on to other teams and later retired, the two reconciled.
When Bryant was tragically killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, O’Neal was inconsolable with grief for his friend and former teammate.
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On Sunday, Bryant would have turned 42 years old, so O’Neal spoke with Mark Medina of USA TODAY to discuss his feelings on Bryant and things he wished he had shared with him.
“I don’t want to see anybody go out like that and never to be able to talk to him again,” O’Neal said “The thing that hurt me was all the stuff that I wanted to say, I hadn’t said it. I never said it.”
The Lakers won three NBA championships when Bryant and O’Neal were together and despite the tension when they played together, O’Neal always knew he could count on Bryant on the court.
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There’s a myth that you have to be best friends to win championships. We only have to have one thing, and that’s respect. If he goes to the hole with four people coming, he’s dropping it off to me. When I get double or triple-teamed, I look for him first. He knows I need him. I’m damn sure he knows he needs me. I was just hurt I would never be able to tell him anything ever again.
O’Neal regrets that he and Bryant didn’t patch things up sooner.
You never know what stuff is going to happen. So you shouldn’t let stuff linger,” O’Neal said. “Were we best friends? No. Did we respect the hell out of each other? 1,000%. Do I wish we could’ve talked every day and hung out every day. Yes.”
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