Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal honored his former on-court running mate, Kobe Bryant, by gifting the late basketball player’s mother with a gift that means more than words can explain.
O’Neal presented Pamela Bryant with a restored 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser, once driven by her son during his high school days, on Aug. 24. That date is observed as Kobe Day in Los Angeles.
Pam gave birth to Kobe on August 23, 1978. After playing for the Lakers for 20 seasons from 1996 to 2016, the shooting guard passed away on Jan. 26, 2020, at 41 years old.
Kobe perished as a result of a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, was also one of the nine fatalities. The father and daughter duo were survived by Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant (née Cornejo), and their three other daughters – Natalia (born Jan. 19, 2003), Bianka (born Dec. 5, 2016), and Capri (born Jan. 1, 2019).
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In celebration of the man who introduced “Mamba Mentality” to the world, O’Neal partnered with Effortless Motors and actor Anthony C. Hall to update Kobe’s Land Cruiser for his family.
The company shared before-and-after footage of the Japanese-made automobile on the car dealership’s social media accounts. According to Hall, Shaq found the Cruiser at Pam’s Las Vegas home.
“Shaquille went over to Ma Bryant’s house. He always likes to check on her. He loved Kobe,” Hall explained in a video published to the Effortless Motors YouTube channel on Aug 25.
The “Blue Chips” movie cast member also said, “[O’Neal] asked her if he could fix it up for her, get it back into running condition for her, make it look nicer. He loves his mom, loves that family.”
Effortless Motors also posted clips of the interview with Hall to its Instagram page and called the chance to work with Shaq and commemorate Kobe an honor.
“We had the incredible opportunity to restore a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser owned by Kobe Bryant’s family — delivered to them on his birthday,” read Effortless’ Instagram caption.
The statement continued, “Huge thanks to [Shaq] for making it happen, and shoutout to [Hall] for helping bring this project to life. At Effortless Motors, it’s all about passion, legacy, and excellence.”
Fans of Kobe, Shaq, and the Lakers praised the heartfelt gesture of repairing the five-time NBA champion’s wheels from his teenage years to gift to his mother.
“That’s so dope. You guys are so solid, I swear. Wish this company so much success!” one Instagram user proclaimed in reaction to Effortless Motors’ restoration of Kobe’s Land Cruiser.
Negativity also creeped into Effortless Motors’ Instagram comment section when a critic of Kobe’s mother exclaimed, “We know Kobe’s relationship was estranged from his parents but they still lost a son and granddaughter. It’s nice that [Shaq] continued to check on the [people] that gave us Kobe.”
Another Mamba fan expressed, “Why so she can sell it! Shoulda gave it to Vanessa and the girls.” A fourth person noted, “Ya Kobe wouldn’t have done that so Shaq shouldn’t have either.”
Kobe had a fraught relationship with his parents before his passing. Pam and Joe “Jellybean” Bryant reportedly did not approve of their son marrying Vanessa, an ex-music video model, in April 2001. Kobe apparently reconciled with Joe and Pam in 2005.
Conversely, the Philadelphia-born baller became more estranged from his mother and father after entering into a legal battle with Pam over her attempt to sell the personal mementos of the former Lower Merion High School student.
Pam claimed Kobe gave her the items, which allowed her to provide the so-called “The Bryant Collection” for an New Jersey-based auction for a reported $450,000 advance. After a settlement was reached, Pam and Joe eventually apologized for “any misunderstanding and unintended pain” they caused their son.
The couple were back in the news in 2024 when they put a replica of Kobe’s 2000 NBA championship ring up for auction. He won his first title that year for the Lakers alongside O’Neal at the center position. It sold for a record $972,000.
Kobe’s parents faced significant backlash for auctioning the ring that he gave to his dad. Joe, who spent eight seasons in the NBA with three different teams, passed away in July 2024. He was 69 years old.
Like with his mother and father, Kobe had a hot-and-cold relationship with Shaq, noting their volatile tenures as teammates in NBA history.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers captured three consecutive championships together under the leadership of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, but their epic split rocked the league when O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004.
Both supreme athletes threw constant jabs at each other in the media for years following O’Neal’s exit from Los Angeles. The longtime frenemies were able to reconcile in the 2010s.
The dynamic duo reflected on their iconic run for the Lakers franchise and their newsworthy feud during an in-person conversation for TNT’s “Players Only” in 2018.
That reconciliation went a long way to mend the broken fences between the two alpha males. However, Shaq admitted still regretting not having more time with Kobe before the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player lost his life in that tragic accident.
“I’ll never get to see Kobe again, in real life, forever. And I just should have called. He should have called. We both should have called. But he’s working, I’m working, so it’s ‘I’ll see you when I see you,’” O’Neal confessed to People in 2022.
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