Shaq Shares a Tearful Tribute To His Friend and Ex-Teammate Kobe Bryant

There wasn’t a dry eye in America when the world got news of Kobe Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash that occurred on January 26. The Los Angeles Lakers star was killed, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

If fans were so emotionally affected by the tragedy, imagine how people close to Bryant feel. Besides his wife and three surviving daughters, Bryant also had an entire team who loved and looked up to him.

That includes his ex-teammate, Shaquille O’Neal. The NBA legend turned broadcaster recently gave a gut-wrenching tribute to Bryant. Definitely get those tissues ready.

“The last couple months have been really tough. I lost my little sister. Haven’t been doing the things I usually do. I work, we laugh, we kid, we joke. When I get back home I look at reality and say she’s gone and it hurts,” Shaq said.

“So the other day I’m downstairs working with my son Shaqir and my nephew Columbus and my other nephew comes in crying and he shows me his phone and I snapped at him,” he continued. “I said, ‘Man get that out of my face.’”

He didn’t believe it at first. Of course, in this day and age, “anything can be photoshopped,” O’Neal said. “And then we found out it was confirmed. I haven’t felt a pain that sharp in a while.”

He went on to explain that Bryant, though not blood, was a member of his family, adding to the long list of members he’s lost in his life.

“I lost two grandmothers, lost a Sarge, lost a sister. And now I lost a little brother,” he said. “Our names will be attached together for what we did.”

O’Neal was visibly distraught throughout the entire speech, with tears streaming down his face.

To view the speech in full, check out the video below.