It is no secret that Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant had a special relationship, and the NBA star has spoken on camera for the first time since the tragic accident that took the life of Bryant, his daughter Gigi and 7 other individuals.
Sitting amongst a panel that consisted of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Dwyane Wade, Shaq joined the group at center court of the Staples Center to reflect on Bryant on NBA on TNT.
Grab the tissues, because you're going to need them for when Shaq recalled the emotional moment he heard that Kobe was involved in the accident. He was working out in the basement of his home on Sunday when his nephew ran down waving his phone, in tears.
“And I snapped on [the nephew]...We live in a world where anything can be Photoshopped, hoaxed," Shaq shared.
But then the nightmare that was presented to him was verified, as well as the "final blow" that Gigi was also aboard the helicopter.
“Everybody called me and we found out it was confirmed.”
Shaq was fighting back tears as he continued.
"The fact that we're not gonna be able to joke at his Hall of Fame ceremony, we're not gonna be able to say, 'Haha, I got 5 (championships), you got 4,' the fact that we're not gonna be able to say, 'If we would've stayed together, we could've got 10' ... those were the things you can't get back."
Watch the full interview below.
Top photo: Getty