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David Samson calls Shaquille O’Neal’s tribute to Kobe Bryant ‘spectacular’

The sports world is mourning after the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant after a helicopter he was in crashed and left no survivors. Bryant, as well as his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and the other seven passengers, were killed in the crash. Former teammates, friends and those who just felt the impact of his work and words have spread their messages of love, sadness and shared stories of Bryant. 

On TNT, Shaquille O’Neal spoke about his former teammate and how his death impact him personally. 

David Samson discussed their tribute to the 41-year-old on his podcast “Nothing Personal with David Samson” saying, “They did something spectacular honoring Kobe Bryant.”

“It was emotional,” Samson said, describing how the video impacted many as it circled social media. 

Samson commented that because now many former players are in the booth, when they “lose one of their own, there is a huge amount of emotion.” He complimented this generation of stars turned broadcasters, saying they are solely there because they want to be, this is not something they just do to get out of the house.

“What they’ve done is taken the second career seriously,” Samson said, “These guys never mail it in … and what they did yesterday beat it all.”

While Samson admits he is always impressed by Shaq and company, their Kobe tribute was particularly heart-wrenching and impactful. He called Shaq’s message a “Soliloquy.”

It is no secret that O’Neal and Bryant were not always the best of friends. “They won back to back to back championships and they did not like each other until they had a sit-down years later in an attempt to have a reconciliation,” Samson recalled.

Despite whatever was in the past, Bryant’s passing reminded Shaq of what is important and what to prioritize. “He was genuine, you can tell. He’s had loss in his life,” Samson said. 

O’Neal said he should have taken the time with Bryant and pledged to spend more time with others.

“My question for Shaq is this, how long will this last, how long will you hold onto this emotion, how long will you wait until you call Charles or Kenny Smith or D-Wade. I would hope and assume that it won’t be long and that he’ll carry that with him,” he said. 

Samson concludes his segment on O’Neal’s reaction saying, “Shaq you got it right, I hope you keep going.”

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