Shaquille O’Neal‘s son Shareef O’Neal is one of many who have honored Kobe Bryant after the NBA star’s death, debuting a large tattoo in memory of the late Los Angeles Lakers player on Instagram on Tuesday. Shareef posted a quick clip of himself getting a tattoo on his leg before sharing two photos of the finished product, which wrapped around his calf.
The tattoo included Bryant’s famous phrase “Mamba Mentality” and its logo along with an image of Bryant shooting a basketball and Bryant’s Lakers jersey numbers of 8 and 24. Shareef also included a tribute to Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was killed in the helicopter crash along with her father, inking her Mamba Sports Academy jersey with her number, 2, above the image of Bryant.
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Shareef is currently in college and played basketball for the UCLA Bruins before recently announcing that he would be leaving the team. After Bryant’s death on Jan. 26, Shareef shared a photo of the pair’s last interaction, which saw Bryant ask him, “You good fam?” in reference to Shareef’s upcoming decision.
“Yeah! Just been getting this work in trying to figure out my next move…How you been?” Shareef responded.
“This first picture were messages from THIS MORNING!!!” the 20-year-old captioned the messages. “I wish I didn’t sleep in so I could’ve talked to you .. I can’t even think straight right now.. I’m glad we got to bond over the years .. not only were you a great uncle you were a coach and a mentor to me too .. I love you man..thank you for everything you’ve done .. for this city , for the basketball world , and for me … I won’t let you down .. you always counted on me and lifted me up. Love you unc.”
In a second post, Shareef shared previous messages between the two after Shareef’s open heart surgery in 2018.
“I’m crying while reading these messages over … even when I was at my worst you checked in on me so often,” he wrote. “I really appreciate you for that because I needed that so much…. i was so defeated sittin in that hospital everyday and I thought my basketball life was over .. you brought a smile to my face .. thank you . Love you.”
Photo Credit: Getty / MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
