Shaquille O’Neal gave an awesome speech at the memorial service held for Kobe Bryant and Kobe’s daughter Gianna on Monday.
Shaq kept kept his speech short and — to the surprise of no one — lightened things up for the thousands of fans at Staples Center. One of the best parts about the speech was when he spoke about the day Kobe earned his respect when the two were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq said some other Lakers players were complaining about Kobe not passing the ball, and Shaq told his teammates he’d talk to Kobe about it. When he told Kobe there’s no “I” in team, O’Neal says Bryant responded that “there’s an ‘M-E’ in that motherf—er.’ The F-bomb was caught on live TV.
Shaq also took a shot at himself when he promised to teach Kobe’s daughters all of their dad’s moves, but he said he will make sure to shield them from Shaq’s infamous free throw technique.
There were plenty of tearful moments during the memorial, but Shaq gave fans, friends and family what we have come to expect from the big fella. Michael Jordan also gave a great speech that included a well-timed joke, so the legends of the NBA did their best to make Monday a celebration of life while also mourning a terrible loss.
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