Sunday marked the twenty third anniversary of the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal epic Recreation 7 West Finals alley-oop connection that destroyed the Portland Path Blazers’ hopes to enter the 2000 NBA Finals.
“I’m completely satisfied that occurred, however each time I see my younger fella [and] he’s not with us anymore, it type of makes me unhappy,” O’Neal mentioned. “Shoutout to his mother and pop. We speak on a regular basis, his sisters.
“However after all it was a cheerful second, but when I may commerce that second and have him sitting right here with us, or be capable of textual content him and say ‘Look, Kobe, are you able to imagine this occurred 23 years in the past?’ That might be higher for me.”
Within the blink of a watch, the hammer play between the all-time greats served because the exclamation level for the Los Angeles Lakers to finish their marvelous 14-point fourth-quarter rally towards the Blazers within the do-or-die bout. They went on to seal a spot within the championship stage, and the remainder was actually a historical past. Starring O’Neal and Bryant, Los Angeles turned the residence of the most recent basketball dynasty within the fashionable period following Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ 90s reign.
It’s been over three years already since Bryant parted methods, however his golden reminiscences will stay etched within the hearts of everybody without end.