March 6th marked the 50th birthday of one of the NBA’s most dominant players of all time in Shaquille O’Neal. Not only was Shaq a behemoth on the court, but he has also been one of the most colorful personalities to have graced the league ever since he entered it. Shaq has always loved a good time, and he’s thrown some of the most epic parties during his lifetime as well.
Vanessa Bryant remembered one of those parties when she wished Shaq on his 50th birthday on Instagram. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were together on the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 and the two had a pretty great relationship before it eventually deteriorated in their later seasons together. But in the early days, they were still partying with one another, including in 1999, which is the party Vanessa was talking about.
Vanessa met Kobe in 1999 when she was 17 years old and Bryant was 21, and the two were together for a couple of years before they got married in 2001. Their relationship and indeed, this party occurred just before a period of incredible success for the Lakers, as they three-peated behind a duo of Shaq and Kobe. After Kobe’s tragic passing in 2020, the greatest in the NBA have been supportive of his family, including his idol Michael Jordan.
Times were much different back then indeed, and on his 28th birthday, Shaq ended up dropping an incredible 61 points against the Los Angeles Clippers despite seeming quite disinterested initially.
While the superstars had their differences during their run with the Lakers, there is no doubting the bond that Shaq and Kobe shared with one another. The fact that O’Neal remains in touch with Bryant’s family despite his very busy schedule is a testament to how much Kobe meant to him. And if nothing else, we can be sure that Shaq will have thrown quite the party for himself for this latest milestone in his life.
