Shaq posts heartfelt Kobe Bryant, Gianna message for tragedy's 5-year anniversary

Five years ago on January 26, 2020, the world lost Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in a tragic helicopter crash. Tributes poured in all day including one from Bryant’s one-time Los Angeles Lakers star teammate Shaquille O’Neal.

Kobe and Gigi are survived by Vanessa Bryant and her kids Natalia, 22, Bianka, 8, and Capri, 5, who are all growing up so fast as seen in their holiday ski photos as a family.

On Sunday, an outpouring of messages and photos hit social media for Kobe and Gigi including family friends Russell Wilson’s and his wife Ciara’s heartfelt posts. Shaq followed with his own later in the day with a truly touching message: “Miss you lil bro & miss you too Gigi #missyall #neverforgotton.” He shared a ton of photo memories (scroll through).

Here are a couple of the sweetest images of the two together Shaq shared.

Shaq and Kobe were teammates on the Lakers from 1996 to 2004 where they won three titles together in a three-peat from 2000-2002. Of course, there’s a lot of history between the two that wasn’t always good before their break-up in 2004 where Shaq went off to the Miami Heat.

Despite whatever happened between the two during their careers, they had a special bond and were one of the most feared duos in NBA history. Shaq spoke at Kobe’s funeral with an epic speech that involved a NSFW word with a hilarious memory.

Kobe would finish his career with five rings to Shaq’s four. The “what ifs” if they never broke up will be one of the biggest ones in sports history.

Thank you Shaq for sharing these with the world. RIP Kobe and Gigi.

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