Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers for years. That is why Bryant’s death upset O’Neal’s son Shareef, who revealed the final messages he got from the basketball legend, reports Yahoo. Shareef posted a screenshot of their conversation on Twitter, with Bryant reaching out to him the morning before the accident. The NBA legend asked him how he has been doing as the young NCAA player just announced he is leaving UCLA.
Shareef’s father, Shaquille, also expressed his pain and grief on his Twitter account. He wrote that he will miss Bryant and expressed his sympathies to the families of the others who perished in the crash.
Bryant’s last post on his Twitter account was of him congratulating fellow Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James. James just passed Bryant’s no. 3 placement on the all-time scoring list of the NBA.
Literally this morning you reached out to me ....😔 I love you forever unc❤️ I love you pic.twitter.com/3oVgvKKUkm
— Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) January 26, 2020
You’ve really been there for me all 20 years of my life ... been there for me since I was born .. love you
— Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) January 26, 2020
Kobe Bryant's tragic death
The news of the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna, and seven others shocked everyone all over the world. The nine victims were aboard a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter on Sunday when it crashed in Calabasas, California.
They were on their way to a basketball game in Newbury Park’s Mamba Sports Academy. According to reports, the helicopter’s engine was heard “sputtering” before the aircraft ultimately crashed and burst into flames.
Apart from Kobe and Gianna, college baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa also perished in the helicopter crash.
School basketball coach Christina Mauser is also among those who died. Authorities are still doing investigations to find the exact cause of the crash. The two possibilities pointed out right now are the unfavorable weather conditions and mechanical failure.
Legacy of Kobe Bryant
Throughout his years as an NBA player, Kobe Bryant has earned a reputation as among the best in the sport.
Bryant is one of the best shooting guards in the history of the NBA. During his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he helped the team achieve five championships. He also represented the Lakers in a total of 18 All-Star appearances.
Ever since he retired from professional basketball in 2016, his status as one of the basketball greats has only grown. One year after the end of his professional career, the Lakers announced the retirement of the no. 8 and no. 24 jerseys to honor his legacy.
He also had a career outside the basketball court. He had lucrative partnerships with established brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola, Turkish Airlines, and Nike. By 2016, his net worth had already risen to $350 million.
Additionally, he wrote and narrated the clip Dear Basketball, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Bryant also had a short-lived career as a hip-hop artist during the early years of his time with the Lakers.