Kobe Bryant inspired millions of children across the world to pick up a basketball and try to play the game. There are a whole bunch of players in the NBA today that were driven to push themselves because of Kobe, and LA Lakers Summer League player Shareef O’Neal is no different. The son of Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef shared a close bond with Kobe despite his history with his father. Kobe was a terrific mentor to Shareef and always pushed him to be better.
Every single person that has had a relationship with Bryant or has worked with him on their game has said that Kobe pushed them to be better. Shareef was different, probably because he was the son of the ex-teammate he won 3 rings with.
Shareef had a very public battle with heart disease when he was in college, and he revealed that Kobe texted him every day during his recovery in an interview.
Shareef O'Neal: "Every day during my open heart surgery, Kobe would check on me and text me."
💜💛🐍 pic.twitter.com/cQQK1ETUGq
— 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙗𝙝 ⁶𓅓 (@OVOLakeShow) July 18, 2022
“When I was young, he used to tell me ‘whatever you wanna do, don’t let anybody say you can’t do it’. I always thought about that. Even though people already heard that before, it’s different hearing that from someone like that. He was the one person who always checked in with me. Every day of my surgery, he messaged me ‘how are you doing today?’ He always looked after me, made sure that I’m good.”
Shareef’s story of returning from heart disease to making it as far as the Summer League is pretty extraordinary. Whether he actually gets to plan an NBA game is something we aren’t sure we will see but making it this far is an achievement in itself.
Bryant would have been extremely happy to see Shareef make it to this stage, and it is clear to see that Kobe’s teachings live on in Shareef, who keeps the memory of the Mamba alive with him every time he is on the court.
