The detente started when Shaquille O’Neal introduced his long-time adversary with words of affection.
“The greatest Laker ever,” O’Neal said, “Mr. Kobe Bryant.”
The detente ended when O’Neal said goodbye to Bryant with a message that equally waxed nostalgia, gratitude and remorse amid three NBA championship runs, endless bickering and a messy divorce.
“Kobe, I just wanted to say I love you brother,” O’Neal said. “I miss you. I enjoyed the times we played together. I wish we could have gotten to seven championships. But it is what it is. We’re still the most respected and most dominant one-two punch in Lakers history.