A Tearful Shaq Remembers “Little Brother” Kobe Bryant

An emotional Shquille O’Neal went on TNT Tuesday night to mourn the loss of former teammate Kobe Bryant, The New York Post reports. Shaq sat center court inside L.A.’s Staples Center and said during the network’s Kobe tribute, “I haven’t felt the pain that sharp in a while.” He recalled that he was working out when one of his nephews interrupted him to show him the news Sunday morning. “And I snapped,” O’Neal said, not believing the news. “We live in a world where anything can be Photoshopped, hoaxed. Everybody called me and we found out it was confirmed.”

Shaq also revealed that Bryant’s loss hit extra-hard as he also lost his younger sister, Ayesha, to cancer in October. “Now I lost a little brother,” Shaq told Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Dwyane Wade. He added that the loss of Bryant’s daughter, Gianna, made it even more painful for him.