Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant share heartfelt moment at statue unveiling

Shaquille O'Neal's legacy with the Los Angeles Lakers is now set in stone. Literally.

On Friday night, the Lakers unveiled a 1,200 pound, nine-foot bronze statue of The Big Fella outside of the Staples Center — the arena where he and Kobe Bryant orchestrated one of the most dominant, championship-winning runs in NBA history.

O'Neal, whose L.A. chapter came to an end when he was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, helped lead the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles during his eight seasons with the franchise, winning one league MVP, three Finals MVPs and being named to seven All-Star teams in the process.

The statue, which hangs 10 feet above the grounds of the Staples Center's Star Plaza, joins sculptures of fellow Laker greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Chick Hearn, as well as Oscar De La Hoya and Wayne Gretzky.

The ceremony, which had no shortage of starpower, featured speeches from Laker legends and O'Neal's family members — from West and Abdul-Jabbar to O'Neal's daughter Taahirah and son Myles.

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But what garnered the most attention, at least on the social media front, were the moments shared by Bryant and O'Neal, whose once-frayed, often misunderstood relationship has grown stronger over the years.

"I just want to say thank you. I've learned so much from you, as a player, and everything that you've done for this city, everything you've done for this franchise," Bryant, who called O'Neal the "most dominant player I've ever seen," said. "Your kids, you guys should know, your dad was a bad man. He's a bad man. Congratulations, and much love to you, my brother."

O'Neal, who was last to speak, addressed a long list of dignitaries before turning to Bryant, to whom he expressed similar sentiments.

"Last but not least, the great Kobe Bean Bryant," O'Neal said. " ... I just want to say, brother, thank you. We pushed each other, we had our battles, we had our times. But we always had respect for each other, and we were able to win three championships. Definitely couldn't have done it without you. I appreciate you very much. Next time we're out here for a statue, it'll probably be your statue."