Shaquille O’Neal Reveals He Refurbished Kobe Bryant’s Car for His Parents (Exclusive)

Shaquille O’Neal refurbished the car Kobe Bryant drove in high school for the late NBA star’s parents.

In honor of what would have been Bryant’s 47th birthday on Aug. 23, O’Neal surprised his mom Pamela Bryant with the touching gesture, as documented in a video shared by Effortless Motors, who helped him pull off the kind gesture.

O’Neal tells PEOPLE the idea came to him while he was visiting Pamela and her husband Joe, who passed away in July 2024. “I was over there one day, and I was like, ‘What are you doing with this car?’ and [Joe] is like, ‘That’s Kobe’s old high school car,’ so I promised the dad I would fix it up, and before he passed away, I went and picked it up.”

O’Neal wishes he “could have dropped it off to him and seen” the reaction, “but we just fixed it up and refurbished it free of charge,” he says, noting that he wasn’t able to be present at the arrival of the car because he had to admit himself to the emergency room. “But everything’s fine,” O’Neal assures PEOPLE of his health.

Speaking about his relationship with Bryant’s family, O’Neal says it’s “just about respect” and taking care of his late friend’s family. “I’m always going to respect everybody’s mother and everybody’s father. They live in Vegas. I’m in Vegas. I’m close with his sisters. I just call to check on them. Their mom has been through a lot in a couple of years, and that takes toll, and sometimes you just need somebody to just call to check on you.”

The former Lakers star, who won three championships with Bryant over eight seasons together in Los Angeles, says he knows “what it feels like with the passing of her son,” but says he can’t relate to “what it feels like to lose a son and a husband, so I’m sure she has a lot of pain that she’s dealing with.”

He checks on Pam monthly, sending her flowers from time to time. “I just try to make her smile. I just try to do whatever I can because I know it’s tough,” he says.