Rick said the two are his “brothers” and have even impacted his post-NBA business ventures

LOS Angeles Lakers icon Rick Fox has recalled how his former teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s reconciliation nearly brought tears to his eyes.

The two NBA greats fell out after leading the Purple and Gold to the fable three-peat between 2000-2002 – with Fox being a member of their supporting cast.

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Los Angeles Lakers icon Rick Fox (right) has recalled how Kobe Bryant (left) and Shaquille O’Neal’s (center) reconciliation nearly made him cryCredit: Getty

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Bryant and O’Neal fell out after winning three straight NBA championships before making up during the 2009 All-Star GameCredit: Getty

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Fox said Kobe and Shaq were his ‘brothers’ and seeing them back on good terms ‘meant the world’ to himCredit: Getty
Bryant and O’Neal feuded even during their three-peat run with the Lakers.

But their relationship hit rock bottom in the two years after their last title victory, contributing to Shaq’s trade request that sent him to the Miami Heat.

The NBA icons then engaged in public attacks and didn’t greet each other when facing off on the hardwood.

The breakthrough came after they reunited on Team West during the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix – and both were named the event’s MVP.

After initially trying to hand the trophy to each other, Bryant gave it to O’Neal’s son, Shareef, leading to the resolution of their conflict.

“And I was there, and they both looked over and saw me standing there,” recalled Fox, 54, who featured in the celebrity game earlier during the All-Star Weekend.

“And I think I might have almost been in tears because they were my two brothers that had kind of made up – and it meant the world to me.”

In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Fox credited Kobe and Shaq for becoming the person he is today.

Their influence transcended the basketball court, the ex-forward added, impacting his post-NBA career ventures.

Those include his current mission to decarbonize concrete by substituting it with a carbon-negative alternative discovered by his start-up, Partanna, in a fight against climate change.

“We did a lot together and I love them. I love them dearly,” Fox said,

“I’m grateful for them. I always say I have the life I have because the two of them were in my life.

“We did amazing things together. And I owe them… I owe concrete to them.

“I owe everything to them because they were beyond average. They were the greatest to play the game.”

Fox said he tries to emulate his on-court partnership with Bryant and O’Neal in his management of Partanna as he’s trying to achieve the ambitious goal he’d set for the company and himself, which is to “change the world at large, not just the bottom of it.”

The Bahamas native said: “I’m much closer to a material scientist today than I was three years ago.

“But yet still, I surround myself with the smartest material scientists.

“So just like I had Shaq and Kobe as teammates and I played a role in facilitating their excellence – it’s no different today.

“I facilitate the influence of my teammates that are far more talented and credible in the execution than I could have ever been in this space.”

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Fox helped Bryant and Shaq win the three-peat with the Lakers between 2000-2002Credit: Getty