Shareef O’Neal pays tribute to Kobe Bryant with jacket
Shareef O’Neal was close with Kobe Bryant and paid tribute to the late former Laker with a cool jacket.
Shareef, who is the son of Shaquille O’Neal, shared a photo on Instagram Saturday that showed him wearing the style of jacket that Kobe wore after winning the NBA championship in 2002.
That was the third of three championships in a row won by the Lakers. They beat the Pacers in 2000, the 76ers in 2001, and they swept the Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals.
Shaq and Kobe teamed up for those three championships before the team broke apart. Shaq later won a championship in Miami, while Kobe won two more with the Lakers. Whatever tension that existed between Shaq and Kobe was later worked out by the two stars, and Shaq has spoken glowingly about Kobe since January’s fatal helicopter crash.
You may also recall that Kobe texted Shareef hours before his death. Shareef began his college basketball career at UCLA but has since transferred to LSU.