Kobe Bryant was like an uncle to Shareef O'Neal -- the two were EXTREMELY close -- and Shaq's son is telling TMZ Sports the most important message he learned from Mamba.
"He just told me to always be the best I can be. Always try hard and always try to work harder than everyone else 'cause every day u take off, there's always people trying to get better."
"So, he just told me to be the best I can be, I don't have to live up the my dad's name. I don't have to live up to anybody's name.