By Jan Carlo Anolin
Shareef O’ Neal, son of Lakers legend and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille, got his tattoo done to pay homage to the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
Shareef first revealed the work-in-progress in a Wednesday tweet before Bleacher Report unveiled it on Thursday.
The leg tattoo featured Kobe’s iconic fadeaway shot and his retired jersey numbers ‘8’ and ‘24’ on the right part.
The phrase ‘MAMBA MENTALITY’ is written on the left side with Kobe’s logo – “The Sheath” – underneath.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1225102340497334273
Growing up, Shareef is known to have a close relationship with Kobe. His father and Kobe led the Lakers to three-peat NBA titles from 2000 to 2002.
Shareef, who announced his transfer from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) recently, was vocal in social media on his close ties with Kobe.
“You always wanted me to be the best I could be... you always made sure I was happy, you put me before you put yourself and when we had our moments you made me feel like I was great,” the 20-year-old O’Neal said in an Instagram post last Wednesday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B747wsegZ3n/
Aside from Shareef, Lakers teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis made their tattoos known to the public the past week.
Kobe, 41, Gianna, 13, and seven other passengers perished in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Los Angeles last Sunday.