Shaquille O'Neal's son reveals heartbreaking last chat with Kobe Bryant hours before death
Kobe Bryant tragically died after along with eight other victims in a helicopter in California on Sunday.
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Shaquille O'Neal's son, Shareef O’Neal, has revealed he received a message from Kobe Bryant just hours before the fatal helicopter crash which killed the Los Angeles Lakers legend. NBA fans are in mourning today following the news of Bryant’s death.
The 41-year-old was a beloved figure from his 20-year career in the NBA, where he won five NBA championships with the Laker.
More than that though, Bryant was highly regarded as the hardest working sportsman of all time, known for his extreme work ethic of counting to better himself.
He was respected by his peers, none more so than his famed team-mate Shaquille O’Neal.
The duo may have had their differences when O’Neal left the Lakers in 2004, but they have always had a strong bond with both families becoming close over the years.
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Bryant has particularly been a source of help for O’Neal’s oldest son, Sharif, who is currently playing college basketball for UCLA.
And Shareef appeared to be one of the last people Bryant reached out to before his tragic death.
The 20-year-old took to Twitter to reveal the message he received from Bryant on Instagram, posting a screenshot of the heartbreaking exchange.
“Literally this morning you reached out to me… I love you forever unc. I love you,” he wrote.
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In the message sent on Instagram at 8.29am local time, Bryant wrote to Sharif: “You good fam?”
Sharif didn’t reply until a few hours later though, sending his response at 10.58am.
“Yeah! Just been getting this work in trying to figure out my next move,” he wrote. “How you been?”
But flight records revealed how Bryant would painstakingly have never seen Shareef’s response as the crash occurred shortly before 10am in Calabasas.
Bryant was flying along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people when the helicopter crashed down in the hills of Calabasas.
It has been indicated that adverse weather conditions will be a key part of the investigation into the crash with dense fog reported in the area that morning.
The Los Angeles Police Department said the fog “was enough that we were not flying.”