
via Imago
Image Courtesy: IMAGO

via Imago
Image Courtesy: IMAGO
The world continues to celebrate Kobe Bryant‘s 45th birthday with some iconic pictures and videos of the late NBA icon. As fans got emotional, his former teammate Shaquille O’Neal decided to revisit a special tribute to his late buddy. A video that was once recognized by several NBA legends like Dwyane Wade, Scottie Pippen, Tony Parker, etc. was looked back again by Shaq, only to honor Bryant on this special occasion.
While many organizations, teams, and players continue to celebrate this special day in their own way, Shaq decided to be unique. Well, it is only fair considering the love, respect, and admiration Big Diesel has for Bryant. Interestingly, the entire O’Neal family paid memorable tributes to the Black Mamba.
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Shaquille O’Neal revisits an old tribute to honor Kobe Bryant
Nike relaunched the Kobe brand with the new Kobe 8 proto for the 5x NBA champion’s 45th birthday. In addition, the multi-billion organization conducted a tournament for the youngsters. While these were some unique ways to honor the legend, Shaquille O’Neal decided to take over with his tribute.

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Lakers Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal sit on the bench with foul trouble against the Timberwolves in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center Monday. (Photo by Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Back in March 2020, Instagrammer Umut Begen, who has over 320K followers, released a tribute video that went viral. Watched by nearly 410,000 users, the video was not only a treat for the fans but also for several NBA legends.
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Damian Lillard, Tony Parker, Scottie Pippen, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard are a few famous NBA stars who reacted to the video. Shaquille O’Neal was also one among them who commented, “The video is great, thanks guys”, during the time of its release.
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However, what’s surprising was Big Diesel shared this video once again to his Instagram story to celebrate his best buddy’s birthday. Though many might go the usual way, Shaq remembered this emotional tribute for Bryant. This uniqueness is the reason why fans continue to celebrate this dominant duo even off the court.
The entire O’Neal family comes together to celebrate Bryant
Shaq was not the only one in his family to pay his respects, though. His children, Me’arah, Shaqir, and Shareef had their own way of celebrating their “Unc” Bryant’s birthday. 17-year-old Me’arah shared the famous jersey bite of the 19x All-Star. Shaqir added the iconic behind-the-back pass by Bryant to his father, Shaq.
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All three have a lot of memories with the Los Angeles Lakers icon. In fact, they love the Mamba more as a player than Shaq. While it is unfortunate for Shaq, he doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as he revealed it himself in an interview. What are your thoughts on this iconic tribute from Shaq? Share in the comments below.
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