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Shaquille O’Neal returned to centre court at Staples Center to pay an emotional tribute to Kobe Bryant .
The legendary Los Angeles Lakers star, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles hills on Sunday. Bryant was a five-time NBA champion who played his entire 20-year career in the gold and purple.
O’Neal and Bryant thrived together with the Lakers, and the iconic big man joined his colleagues from the TNT television network to remember Bryant with their usual pregame show scrapped after the Lakers against city rivals the Clippers was postponed.
Instead, they sat at centre court, from where O’Neal recalled his former team-mate as a great player whose kids called him “Uncle Shaq”. “The fact that we lost probably the world’s greatest Laker, the world’s greatest basketball player is just – listen, people are going to say ‘take your time and get better’, but this is going to be hard for me,” O’Neal said. “I already don’t sleep anyway, but I’ll figure it out.”
O’Neal was with family members when he got the news of Bryant’s death and hoped it was not true. “I didn’t want to believe it. I said to my son, ‘I hope some buttface made this up and it’s not true’. But then after getting all the calls...my spirit just left my body.”
Kobe Bryant: Career in picturesShow all 50 1 /50Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures NBA legend Kobe Bryant died, aged 41, in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday 26 January 2020. Four other passengers were killed in the crash, the LA County Sherrif Department have confirmed.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant dunking the ball at his Lower Merion, Pa. high school gym during a practice in 1996.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant, 17, smiles as he holds his Los Angeles Lakers jersey in 1996.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant drives to the basket during a Lakers pre-season victory over the Dallas Mavericks in 1996.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Waiting to appear in his first-ever NBA game in 1996. He was the NBA's youngest ever player at the time.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) He remains the the youngest ever winner.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Shaquille O'Neal puts his arms around teammates, Elden Campbell and Kobe Bryant as they return to play the Houston Rockets in 1999.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) The arrival of Phil Jackson kick-started the Lakers to true contention.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant's image overlooks the Staples Center arena after the Lakers won the NBA Championship against the Indiana Pacers in 2000.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant celebrates from atop a doubledecker bus during the Lakers victory parade in 2000.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant jumps over a row of fans after saving the ball from going out of bounds in the second half of the Lakers 107-101 win over the Houston Rockets in 2001.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant watching the clock run down in the final seconds of their Western Conference semi-final against the San Antonio Spurs in 2002.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant would form one of the most potent one-two punches in NBA history alongside Shaquille O'Neal, winning three titles in a row from 2000 to 2002. The pair later publicly feuded and O'Neal left.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Sitting next to his MVP trophy he received at the 51st NBA All-Star game in 2002.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant was accused of sexual assault in 2003. The charges were later dropped and a civil suit was settled out of court.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Braynt changed from the No 8 to the No 24 in 2006.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant goes up for a shot between the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, left, and Al Jefferson in 2006.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant attends a gathering with his fans in Shanghai during his Supernatural Asia Tour 2007.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant was named the league MVP in the 2007-08 season.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Winning his first Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA in 2008.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant jumps for a rebound during a playoff game in 2009.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Celebrating the 2008-09 title win, a series where he was named Finals MVP.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) He celebrated the Lakers 2009 victory with his family.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) US President Barack Obama shares a laugh with Kobe Bryant during a ceremony honoring the 2009 NBA basketball champions at the White House.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant smiles as he carries his daughter Gianna after the Lakers 2009 victory parade.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Most valuable players Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal from the West team up the trophy at the NBA All-Star in 2009.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Winning the title for the second year in a row, Bryant was again named Finals MVP after an epic seven-game series against the Boston Celtics.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Smiling with daughters Gianna and Natalia with the MVP Trophy after his team defeated the Boston Celtics in 2010.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant slam dunks against the Sacramento Kings in 2011.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Playing with a ball during a sponsor's appearance in Milan in 2011. He moved to Italy when he was six, after his father retired from NBA to play basketball at a lower level.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash, arrived in 2012 but the pair struggled to gel and although the team made the play-offs they lost in the first round.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant dunking the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the Western Conference Semifinals in 2012.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant went to support the US women's side at the 2012 Olympics Games against France, the day before his own final.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant went on to win his second Olympic gold at the London Games.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant is injured in one of the last games of 2012-13, the first of a series of injuries that saw his powers fade dramatically in his final three seasons.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Daughter Natalia sitting on his shoulders during a practice session for the NBA All-Star basketball game in 2013.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Speaking after announcing retirement in December 2015.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant in his 18th and final All-Star game in Toronto. He was named starter for every appearance, a record.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Taking his final ever shot - a free throw - late in the fourth quarter to score his 60th point against the Utah Jazz and his last at Staples Center.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Balloons and confetti rain on the court following Kobe Bryant's final game as a Laker in 2016.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant retires after 20 years with the LA Lakers - the only player in NBA history to spend that long with the same franchise.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant watches a tribute at AT&T Center in 2016.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) With his family and city officials Bryant was honored at a council meeting with Kobe Bryant Day in 2016. With the date commemorating the 2 numbers, 8 and 24, he wore on his Lakers jersey
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) in Haikou in China's southern Hainan province on September 12, In 2017 he attended basketball teaching activities, as part of an announcement that China's first NBA basketball school was to be opened. He believed it would improve the game in the country.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Both Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers jerseys, number 8 and 24, were are retired in 2017.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant with the Best Animated Short Film Award for "Dear Basketball" in 2018.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) With daughter Gianna at the US national championships swimming meet in 2018. He regularly took his children to watch other sporting events.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) As a World Cup ambassador, Kobe Bryant, was part of the Basketball World Cup draw in Shenzhen in 2019.
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Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Present at the finals he presented the 2019 World Cup MVP to Spain's Ricky Rubio
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He added: “I could never have imagined anything like this. I was thinking the other day I’ve never seen anything like this. All the basketball idols that I grew up (watching), I see them. They’re old.”
O’Neal and Bryant helped the Lakers win three straight championships from 2000 to 2002, but they occasionally feuded and O’Neal was traded to Miami in 2004. He won another title there, while Bryant won two more with the Lakers.
O’Neal said that while they texted each other often, he had not seen Bryant since the final day of his career in 2016. He said on that day he told Bryant to score 50 points and Bryant instead scored 60.
“The fact that we’re not going to be able to joke at his Hall of Fame ceremony, we’re not going to be able to say, ‘Hi, I’ve got five (rings), you’ve got four,’ the fact that we’re not going to say ‘if we’d stayed together we could have got 10’, those are the things you can’t get back,” O’Neal said.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal made for a devastating combination (AFP) He said the death of Bryant has made him realise he needs to do more to stay in touch with family and friends.
“I’m going to try and do a better job, just reaching out and just talking to the people, rather than always procrastinating. Because you never know. Life is too short.”
O’Neal wished “I could be able to say one last thing to the people we lost...We should never take stuff like that for granted.”
O’Neal offered his condolences to Bryant’s “family, his mom, his dad, his sisters, the other families, everybody involved”.
PA also contributed to this report
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